Mountain Biking Skills

FROM THE MAKERS OF

RIDE BASICS ESSENTIAL SKILLS

JUMPS & TRICKS ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

FIND SPEED AND FLOW TACKLE TRAIL FEATURES LAND JUMPS EVERY TIME AND MUCH MORE! O

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WORKOUTS TO BOOST YOUR BIKE STRENGTH & FITNESS

HIT BLUE, RED AND BLACK RUNS WITH CONFIDENCE

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WELCOME Congratulations! By choosing this special edition you’ve taken the next pedal stroke (or perhaps uplift) on your journey to becoming a better rider. Inside you’ll find everything you need to know to make the most of pretty much anything a trail can throw at you.

Crammed with step-by-step advice from the UK’s top coaches and riders, this issue gives you with the best and most up to date riding knowledge available.

We’ve divided most of the mag into blue, red and black sections to help give the most relevant advice for the grade of trail you’re currently riding and help you take your skills to the next level!

Many of the riding techniques featured in this publication are suitable for advanced cyclists only. Individuals carrying out any of the techniques do so at their own risk.

Individuals must use their own independent judgement to determine that they have sufficient riding ability to carry out the techniques in this magazine. Anyone under the age of 18 should be supervised by a responsible adult. You must seek medical

WARNING

advice if you have any injuries or medical conditions. Protective clothing and a helmet should be worn at all times and equipment should be inspected. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Immediate Media shall not have any liability in connection with the information in this magazine and disclaims all liability for any damage or injury to individuals or their equipment as a result of or relating to carrying out any of the techniques in this magazine.

CONTENTS 4 BIKE SET UP How to perfectly dial in your bike to suit your kind of riding

6TheFEMALE SET UP best bike set-ups for women riders

8GetBIKEPARK READY your steed ready for the bikepark with these tweaks and modifications

10 BLUE TRAIL SKILLS 12 Improve your riding 15 Perfect posture 16 Finding balance 17 Line choice 18 Correcting a slide 19 Riding off camber 20 Effective braking 22 Riding rollers 23 Riding a high line 24 Flat turns 26 Simple berms 28 Cornering mistakes 30 Basic jumps

32 RED TRAIL SKILLS

trail 72 BLACK TRAIL SKILLS

34 Riding ruts 35 Nailing berms 36 Railing turns 38 Wet roots 39 Wheel lift 40 Loose descents 42 Loose corners 44 Uphill switchbacks 46 Tight turns 48 Bump jumps 49 Rock gardens 52 Attack the steeps 54 Rolling drops 56 Pedalling drops 58 Aggro berms 59 Tabletop jumps 60 Nail every jump 62 Jump obstacles 64 Boosting jumps 66 Jumping faults 68 Ride lat out 70 Steep climbs 71 Descend at speed

74 Gnarly roots 76 Big rock gardens 78 Drops to downslope 80 Launching drops 81 Rocks and scree 82 Steep turns 84 Steep chutes 86 Step downs 88 Squash jumps 90 Blind jumps 92 Gap jumps 94 Sending jumps

96 ADVANCED SKILLS 98 Bunnyhop 100 Wheelie 101 Manual 102 Scandi lick 104 Hop on an obstacle 106 Switzerland squeaker 108 Whipping airs

110 GET IN SHAPE TO SHREDD 112 Lose that belly 114 Get bike it 116 Beat the bulge 118 Boost your brain 120 Stay motivated 122 Get it fast 128 You are what you eatt 130 Recipes for riders

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 3

SET-UP

CUSTOMISE YOUR BIKE It’s important to customise your bike and components to suit your riding style – this will ultimately improve your control. Extra braking power, smoother suspension and more grip could be just a few minutes’ fettling and a couple of clicks away…

BRAKE POSITION

B A R W I DT H / ST E M L E N GT H

In a standing position, put your hands on your grips and extend your index fingers out.

Now adjust the angle, lever reach and clamp in or out, so you can cover your brakes comfortably and confidently with maximum leverage.

Upwards of 760mm bars are the norm these days. For trail riding they’ll improve an average sized person’s stability and confidence when coupled with a short stem of 30 to 50mm.

SADDLE HEIGHT If you are descending or practising skills, drop your saddle down as it will allow you to move your bodyweight around the bike.

A dropper post makes this a lot easier of course.

S E T YO U R SAG

TYRES For all-year use go for an aggressive front tyre and a fast rolling rear with good braking traction.

As a rule of thumb, start at a base setting of 26psi (less if tubeless). If you’re getting pinch punctures add 2psi at a time. Check your psi every time you ride.

4 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

P E DA L S & SHOES If you want to improve your skills, ride flat pedals and wear grippy-soled shoes. SPDs are great for racing but they easily encourage poor pull-up style technique and can confuse beginner riders too.

Adjust your suspension preload so you have 30 per cent sag on the rear shock while seated and 20 per cent on the fork when standing.

Do this in your riding gear. Check your manufacturers’ recommendations – some suspension designs may work better in different sag ranges.

CUSTOMISING YOUR BIKE IMPROVING BALANCE

IMPROVE YOUR BALANCE Balancing on smooth terrain is almost as easy as sitting in an armchair. But how do you balance when the trail turns left, right, up and over like a bucking bronco? The key is to stay loose and get yourself into a position where your natural balance can do its thing, so you can concentrate on making decisions.

REBOUND Set your rebound to be as fast as possible, without it feeling springy when the fork/shock returns under your weight. On fast trails with highspeed hits, add extra rebound to improve control.

D R I L L S TO BUILD SKILLS Open your hands in your attack position – you shouldn’t be pulling or pushing with your hands, just balanced on your feet.

COMPRESSION DA M P I N G When descending use as little compression damping as you can. If your fork or shock is diving under braking or blowing through the travel at the correct sag, add more damping.

Stand on your feet Direct the majority of your weight through your feet so you can use your powerful leg muscles and hips to move the bike around quickly.

Relax Constant tension is the enemy of balance. Don’t muscle the bars back and forth, let them move by keeping your upper body relaxed.

SUSPENSION Badly set up suspension can be more of a hindrance than a help so take the time to set up your suspension correctly.

See our tips for setting your sag, rebound and compression.

Use those hips Turn with your hips as you would on a set of skis and try to initiate bodyweight transfers through your core for improved efficiency.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 5

SET-UP

TWEAK A BIKE TO SUIT A FEMALE RIDER Many so-called ‘women’s bikes’ are just ‘unisex’ models (which is in itself a bit of a misnomer, because the frames tend to be designed around typical male proportions) with some flowery colours and a wider saddle.

They may be available in smaller sizes, but generally have the same geometry (Canyon and Liv are the only brands currently offering female-specific MTB frames). And choice is often distinctly limited, in terms of the different models and specs available. All of this means that buying a unisex bike and fine-tuning it to suit can often be the best route to go down, especially for more serious, aggressive, taller or heavier female riders.

Here are some set-up pointers...

TYRE PRESSURES Women are generally lighter than men and can get away with running softer tyre pressures for extra grip and (especially on a hardtail) comfort. How low you can go will depend on your weight, riding style, wheel size, tyre width and casing, whether your wheels are set up tubeless or with inner tubes, and the terrain you’re riding.

As a rough guide, start at around 25psi and adjust downwards until you reach a pressure you’re happy with, where your tyres are able to conform around small trail obstacles but don’t squirm in corners and you’re not getting lots of pinch punctures.

6 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

HANDLEBAR Most modern bikes come with wide bars (760mm+), for extra leverage and control. Bar width should increase with shoulder width though, and because women are generally less broad than men, you may need to get the hacksaw out.

SADDLE Saddle soreness may just be the most talked-about topic in women’s cycling, so fitting a decent female-specific seat is the first thing you should do if you opt for a unisex bike. There are tons of options out there – our favourites include Specialized’s Power models with ‘Mimic’ technology, fi’zi:k’s Luna X5 and Bontrager’s Yatra. Don’t be fooled into thinking that thicker padding will equal more comfort. Getting a perch that has a cut-out to reduce soft-tissue pressure and is the correct width for your sit bones is much more important. You should be able to get advice and fitting help at your local bike shop.

FEMALE RIDER SET UP

GRIPS Smaller hands require narrower grips. Trying to hang on to grips that are too big in diameter will tire out your hands and make your forearms pump up. A few women’s-specific options are available, but it’s generally just a case of picking some grips that suit your hand span.

BRAKES

FRAME SIZE

Many brakes offer lever reach adjustment, via a built-in dial or an Allen/Torx bolt. This allows you to move the lever blade closer to the bar, making the lever easier to reach with smaller hands.

Getting the correct frame size is crucial, and the considerations are the same regardless of gender,of course. Key figures to look at include the reach (the longer your torso, the longer you’ll want this), seat tube length (the shorter your legs, the shorter you’ll want this) and standover height (make sure you have ample clearance).

ST E M If you fall between frame sizes or have a short torso but long legs (or vice versa), a longer/shorter stem can be used to increase/decrease the length of the cockpit slightly. But it’s worth noting that, for aggressive riding, you’ll sacrifice control with anything longer than 50mm. Similar results can be achieved by fitting a bar with less or more backsweep.

SUSPENSION If you’re a smaller, lighter rider you may struggle to use the full travel of your fork or shock, even with the correct sag for your weight. Try removing one or two volume spacers, to make the spring curve slightly less progressive. You may also find the preset rebound/compression tune too firm, in which case you’ll need to ask a suspension specialist to tweak the internals.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 7

SET-UP

BIKE PARK READY These days you don’t need a downhill bike to hit the bike park, but if you’re riding a do-it-all trail bike, it’s a good idea to tweak your base set-up before hitting more extreme terrain. Upliftaccessed riding can be a lot gnarlier than your regular trail centre fare, with rougher, faster tracks and bigger hits. So we’ve come up with a list of set-up tips to help you get the most out of your gravity-fed day out, and not feel out of your depth on a single-crowner.

HANDLEBAR On steeper, faster trails it helps to have your front end a bit higher to help you shift your weight back when you need to. An extra spacer under the stem can make a noticeable difference.

SUSPENSION You want your bike to handle hard landings and bigger holes, but simply adding more air to your fork and/or shock means sacrificing traction. Volume spacers can help here. They make your suspension ramp up more towards the end of its travel, to resist bottoming out.

If you’re going to ride a jumpy spot, check that your rebound isn’t so fast that you’ll get bucked on the take-offs.

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BIKE PARK READY

P R OT ECT I O N Faster speeds and hardpack trails mean that binning it in the bike park can really suck! You don’t have to pedal up, so don some extra protective kit – we’d recommend a full-face helmet, goggles and knee pads. Elbow pads and a spine board are a good idea too. Your car is at the bottom of the hill, so ditch the backpack and enjoy more freedom of movement.

SA D D L E Since you’re not pedalling up, drop your seat to the optimum height for descending. This will give you more manoeuvrability when you’re in the air or things get steep.

’ery day I’m shuttlin’ Follow these tips to help you make the most of your day in the bike park

TYRES Changing tyres isn’t an essential, but fitting a chunkier set can give you more traction and reduce the risk of flats.

Look for thicker or dual-ply casings.

Adding a few psi of pressure can be a good idea for rocky trails and to stop your tyres squirming in high-speed berms. If you’re feeling flush, a second set of heavier- duty wheels with DH tyres is a handy luxury.

QUICK ONCE OVER Even if you don’t tweak your set-up, check your bike, making sure that all the bolts are torqued correctly, the brake pads have life left in them and the suspension pressures are right.

EASE IN Don’t drop in blind on the hardest trail in the park – it’s only going to end in tears. Build things up slowly and look before you leap on jumps.

Qualifiers at the start of trails are a good way to gauge how hard things are going to be. Build up the pace, but be conscious of when you’re getting tired and stop before you crash.

FUEL RIGHT It’s amazing how many riders we see on uplift days who are knackered and heading home way before the end of the day. Lift passes are expensive, so make the most of them – eating the right food will really help. Avoid sugary snacks and drinks that’ll give you energy spikes and slumps, and don’t eat a big, heavy, fatty meal at lunch. Swap the burger and chips for slowrelease carbs to be the last man down.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 9

BLUE TRAIL

SKILLS Everything you need to know to tackle blue trails with con idence

10 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 11

BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

EASY HACKS TO IMPROVE YOUR RIDING Passion and drive are important behaviours in sport – they motivate us to give it our all. But this passion and enthusiasm to go fast can sometimes get in the way of proper technique, especially when you’re new to something. At the opposite end of the scale is the fear of a potential crash – and fear is another behaviour that really affects our riding.

It doesn’t matter which trail centre we go to, most of the beginner mistakes come from either one or both of these things. Thinking about your technique and riding smart can help you to manage these trails, and will take you a long way in mountain biking. These photos illustrate five common bad habits, which are easy to kick if you follow our advice.

C H EC K YO U R FO OT I N G If there’s one ‘how to’ tip that everyone in the mountain biking world has heard, it’s to drop your outside foot in corners. While this can be correct for the right corner, the biggest beginner mistake we notice is riders dropping their outside foot before they’ve even reached the corner. If you think of the basic process of entering a corner, it’s about getting on your line, braking, then cornering.

If you drop your outside foot while trying to brake, you’ll have very little stability when you need it most.

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IMPROVE YOUR RIDING

DON’T FOCUS ON YO U R F R O N T W H E E L As a new(ish) rider, it’s common to stare at your front wheel, because you’re not trusting what it’s going to do. You’re worried it might slide out, which is an understandable concern. Trust in the grip of your front tyre will develop naturally over time, but to speed that process up, practise keeping your focus on the section of trail coming up ahead. That way, things won’t spring themselves on you so suddenly, and you’ll be able to plan your line and where to use the brakes to slow down. Trust in your front wheel will also increase if you keep your body further forward and your arms bent. An improved body position will help to stop you from looking at the front wheel.

P U M P R O L L E R S, DON’T JUMP THEM Getting air off single rollers can be super fun, but as those who’ve tried it will know, the landing isn’t always the most comfortable!

As a beginner, if you’re wanting to get some airtime, we’d advise practising on a tabletop jump instead of single rollers. Use the rollers as a chance to improve your squashing and pumping instead, so you can start to pick up speed and efficiency down the trail.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 13

BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

DON’T HANG O F F T H E B AC K This is by far the most common beginner mistake and usually happens due to human instinct telling you not to ride down a hill head first. We’re going to have to break it to you – riding down a hill head first is safer, even if it doesn’t feel like it! Modern bikes are a lot longer than they used to be, so they work best when your weight is close to the central point of the bike. When ‘L’ plated riders find that central point, they always say that the trail feels smoother and they have more control of the front wheel than when they hang off the back.

S L OW D O W N This one sits within the ‘passion and drive’ behaviour mentioned earlier. Gritting your teeth and going for it is certainly one way to learn to ride bikes, but it has its limits. we’d advise slowing down and working hard to improve your technique, instead of just throwing yourself in at the deep end. When you go for a ride, try to keep a calm frame of mind, and you’ll see how much easier riding becomes, as well as how much more time you have to anticipate and process what’s coming next.

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C H EC K YO U R FO OT I N G If there’s one ‘how to’ tip that everyone in the mountain biking world has heard, it’s to drop your outside foot in corners. While this can be correct for the right corner, the biggest beginner mistake I notice is riders dropping their outside foot before they’ve even reached the corner. If you think of the basic process of entering a corner, it’s about getting on your line, braking, then cornering.

If you drop your outside foot while trying to brake, you’ll have very little stability when you need it most.

IMPROVE YOUR RIDING

MAINTAIN GOOD POSTURE There’s no point in looking at how to tackle obstacles until you have a solid posture on the bike. Having a stable start/finish point to work from, where you’re standing on the pedals, is super-important. Why is a good stance on the bike so critical? First of all, it means you don’t waste energy on difficult, pointless movements.

Secondly, it gives room between you and the bike, so the bike can move to you when going over rollers or rough sections. It also positions your weight centrally, which means the bike can pivot more freely under you. Finally, it brings consistency to your riding, because you’ll be moving from a similar point when approaching different obstacles. Bikes are light, but we are heavy. If you have the correct posture, the bike can work effectively over the terrain. If you don’t, then riding can be extremely hard work!

Here are the four things to focus on...

HIPS Bend at the hips so that your chest comes forward, allowing you to gain control of the front of the bike. The amount you should bend depends on your riding style, but if you often lose control/ traction of the front wheel, try bending more.

ELBOWS A general rule is that if your elbows are bent, you have control of the front wheel.

When riding on flatter terrain, keep your elbows bent and up/forwards.

L EG S Keep your legs straight and in line with the pull of gravity, but stay supple. This will give you a better feel for the terrain and allow space for the bike to move when riding over obstacles.

FEET Put your weight through your heels. This is a common one that many riders know but not many actually do. It’ll help you feel the terrain and encourage you to have even weight distribution through both feet.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 15

BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

BALANCE To flow, you need to be in a balanced position that enables you to move around your bike and react quickly to the trail. You need to feel relaxed and ready – this can only happen if you’re balanced.

Stay relaxed too – rigidity is the enemy of balance.

RELAX Once you’re feeling balanced, loosen up to let the bike move around underneath you.

SHOCK ABSORBERS To use your arms and legs properly you need to have them in a bent position where they can flex or extend quickly.

B AS E O F S U P P O RT Direct your weight through your feet to create your base of support. From here you can apply pressure, or pop, hop or twist your hips for swift changes in direction.

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CHIN UP Stable vision aids balance, so keep your chin up and look ahead to the upcoming trail.

BALANCE LINE CHOICE LOOKING AHEAD

RIDING LIGHT

LINE CHOICE Being able to spot a line is an essential part of riding and choosing the right one will allow you to carry speed much easier.

Don’t fall into the trap of always going for the easy, well-worn number though. There will usually be an alternative option that allows you to attack a section more aggressively.

Rough terrain can damage your bike easily, so riding light can minimise the effects of impacts.

S P OT THE APEX The worn-in natural line here (coloured red) actually leads out into a field and off the path you need to be on.

The track starts on the inside of the turn and goes wide. The best line (coloured yellow) is to go wide at the start of the turn and cut on the inside, exiting in the perfect place to continue.

This way is faster and more direct.

APPROACH 1 YOUR As you get nearer the rough patch, spot your line and be ready to get out of the saddle.

2 COMPRESS Just before you hit the rough stuff, push your body down into the bike and be ready to spring up.

LOOKING AHEAD You need to identify hazards a long time before they pop up in front of you. As soon as you spot the problem, find the line that avoids it and focus on it. Look where you want to go and you’ll go there. If you stare at the things that worry you then you’re likely to head straight for them.

TALL 3 STAND Quickly pop up, but don’t pull on the bike – this standing tall movement helps to unweight your bike and will let it ride over the bumps, rather than get bogged down.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 17

BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

CORRECT A SLIDE Without berms to support your cornering, there’ll be times when your bike will slide while turning on natural terrain.

The key is to go with it and not be afraid – it’s amazing how fast you can react and correct yourself if you commit. You can master this technique by letting yourself slide and practice correcting yourself. It’s a good idea to wear kneepads while you learn this.

1 APPROACH Keep your weight biased toward the front of the bike, have your braking done in advance of the turn and keep your eye on the exit line.

BUM Stay out the saddle, but over it.

Keep central for even weight distribution. Lowering your saddle can make moving your bodyweight around easier.

ARMS Keep your arms bent and relaxed to avoid too much body weight being over the front wheel, which needs to be isolated from the braking force.

LEGS Keep you legs bent and relaxed so you can react quickly if your wheels lose grip.

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HANDS Relax your grip and use gentle one-finger braking to make subtle adjustments. Concentrate your braking on the wheel with most weight on it – if there’s no weight on the wheel, braking will just cause it to lose traction.

STEP 2 COUNTER When the back slides, move further forward and keep steering round the turn. Your inside foot may instinctively step out ready to dab. Don’t fight it.

ON-TRAIL BRAKING Natural trail surfaces vary, and so does the amount of grip they offer. This affects how hard you can brake. Loamy or sandy surfaces can be grippier than dry trails, while clay and mud over hard surfaces can be like riding on ice.

Where and how hard you brake affects your speed control so your motions need to be slow and exaggerated – sudden movements or jerky braking will cause your wheels to lose grip. On a slick muddy trail, broken twigs, grass and foliage can provide extra grip, and dips and holes can be used to weight the bike for momentary hard braking.

CORRECT A SLIDE BRAKING OFF CAMBER TIPPING POINT

HELPING DAB If your front wheel does step out, you can rescue it by stomping your inside foot into the ground.

DOWN AND OUT

COMPOSURE 3 REGAIN As long as your forward momentum is more powerful than your sideways slide, and you keep the front end on track the rear wheel will pull back in line.

UP 4 STRAIGHTEN As you straighten up, move your weight back slightly to put some weight on the rear wheel. This will make it grip and stop sliding.

RIDE OFFCAMBER

Head out somewhere slippy with some kneepads, and find the limits. You need to slide out and have a tumble to work out how far you can push it.

BRAKING Avoid rear braking – the lack of weight on the back wheel will make it skip sideways.

Just use subtle front-wheel braking.

The tricky thing about riding off-camber terrain is that the hillside wants you to head down the same way it does, but you want to cross its gradient. Stay focussed on where you want to go and commit your weight to the front wheel for grip. It’s all about body position. Make slow, exaggerated movements, and if the rear wheel slides, it’ll usually come back into line again as long as the front end maintains grip. If you feel the front lose traction, you can save it with an inside leg dab.

B O DY WEIGHT Keep most of your weight over the front wheel – it’s the wheel that controls your direction so you need to make sure it has traction.

INSIDE L EG DA B

FO OT POSITION

If you feel the front end is going to slide out, you can trail your inside leg out ready to catch yourself.

Have your outside foot down with plenty of weight on it – this forces the shoulder of the tyre into the ground for more grip.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 19

BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

AGGRESSIVE BRAKING

GO LIGHT Spring up on the bike like you would when unweighting before riding something rough – there’s no need to actually pop off the ground though.

It’s easy to drag your brakes and keep control of your bike at mid-paced speeds, but here and there you will need to brake hard. Your tyres can break loose under hard braking, so it’s important to give them as much grip as possible – this means weighting the bike for maximum effect. Often there’ll be dips and undulations that weight the bike as you ride, but you can simulate this effect by aggressively weighting the bike and braking together. You can use this technique on even ground to good effect, but it will always work best in a dip, following a transition or in a G-out, as your bodyweight will naturally weight the bike.

A P P R OAC H Spot your braking point, and be ready to unweight the bike.

COMPRESS Just like pumping the backside of a transition, push your weight through the pedals and handlebars – forcing the tyres in to the ground.

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AGGRO BRAKING

HELPFUL HINTS

Push your heels so your bodyweight moves into the bike as you brake, rather than pitching you forward.

Compress into the bike – your suspension will compress and drive the tyres into the ground.

When braking hard on uneven ground, use one finger, so you can maintain a tight grip on the bars.

Do hard braking when the bike is as weighted as possible, to give your tyres maximum purchase.

POSITION As you’re applying heavy braking, you need to keep a 60/40 bias in your weight distribution toward the rear of the bike – you don’t need us to spell out that a hard handful of front brake when leaning forwards will send you out the front.

STA N D ST R O N G With your full weight on the bike, brace yourself and pull the brakes hard. If your tyres break loose, release the relevant brake slightly.

W R I STS When weighting the bike and braking hard, there can be hard rotational forces on your wrists, so be prepared and brace. One-finger braking is often enough so maximise your grip with the rest of your hand.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 21

BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

WHOOPS / ROLLERS Whoops are smooth bumps in the trail that are great fun to ride and can even help you gain speed if you pump through them. At slow speeds they’re rarely a problem because the impact forces aren’t great enough to affect you. But at speed, if you stay sat down or get your timing wrong, they’ll kick you all over the place. The main focus when riding whoops is to stay smooth and keep your bodyweight flowing forwards by absorbing the upslope and extending on the downslope.

Try to stay relaxed and let the bike pivot and move underneath you by relaxing your arms.

2 AsABSORB the bike hits the upslope allow your legs and arms to bend so the bike comes up underneath you. To time this you have to feel it rather than use a visual reference. As you feel the bike go, load into the upslope – that’s when you absorb. The bump will push the bike up underneath you so there’s no need to try to pick it up.

1 APPROACH Stand in your neutral position. For bigger whoops stand slightly taller than normal to create more room between you and the bike to absorb the bump. You’ve already seen the first whoop and you know what to expect, so look towards the next feature.

EXTEND 3 When your bike is over the top of the whoop, push it into the downslope using your legs as much as possible. Before trying to gain speed from pumping, your main focus is to stay smooth and in control for the next whoop. If you’ve timed it correctly you’ll have picked up speed and you’ll be feeling smooth.

Pump it

RESET 4 You won’t have long between most whoops so focus on extending your legs and arms into a neutral position so you’re ready to repeat the sequence of absorb and extend again.

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If you can stay smooth through whoops then you can gain extra speed without pedalling by pumping them.

Try to be as light as possible over the speedsapping upslope, then push hard with your legs to generate forward speed on the downslope.

ROLLERS HIGH LINE

HOLD THE HIGH LINE When you’re looking for ways through a trail section, the high line is often the quickest, straightest and/or smoothest option, although rarely the easiest. Like with a lot of techniques, the key to holding high lines is in the set-up – you need good balance and stability to get you through. The most common mistake on high lines is riders entering them too fast. You need to control your entry speed and then build it up as you go through the line.

BRAKING 1 Hit the brakes early so that the bike isn’t sliding when it’s on the high line. We’d advise over-braking instead of hitting the line with full speed. Your aim should be to accelerate through the line, not slow down once you’re on it. One of the most common mistakes on a high line is coming into it too quickly. You’re then forced to brake, which causes you to stall.

2 TURNING Get into the best position to make it through the line (ie. do most of your turning) before you enter it. This is especially important if the line is technical, because it’ll be tough to make your turn once you’re in there. After you’ve slowed down, make a significant movement to get your bike at the correct angle so that you can fully commit to the line.

MID LINE 3 No braking, minimal turning and stable body position – these are the key things to remember once you’re on the line. As the bike is accelerating, avoid making any drastic steering movements.

Stability comes from your footwork and your arms so, where you can, keep your cranks flat and a bend in your elbows.

Then just allow the bike to move freely underneath you.

EXIT 4 The number one rule is to look at the exit. As soon as you’ve completed the turn to set you up for the high line, stay focused on exactly where you want to end up, and your bike will follow.

You’ve already seen the line, so you don’t need to look down at it. Any reactions you make should be based not on what you can see but on the feedback the bike is giving you.

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BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

FIND GRIP IN FLAT TURNS Have you ever noticed that most bike parks bring berm after berm, all the way down the trail? That’s because flat corners can be a flow killer – they’re harder to find grip on, commit to and carry speed through. With the correct technique though, you can rail these turns just like any other.

Follow our tips to find as much grip as possible and keep your speed.

S P OT T H E E X I T Fix your vision looking around the corner, towards the exit of the turn, by keeping your head up.

You ride where you look.

LEAN THE BIKE Drop your inside hand towards the centre of the turn to lean your bike over, and let your hand unweight as it moves further away from your body.

This will increase the pressure on your outside hand, and help you maintain front tyre grip. Keep the outside elbow high to maintain a strong position.

GET CENTRED Approach flat corners in a centred position on the bike – with your weight over the bottom bracket – as this is where you’ll have the most balance, and the best manoeuvrability.

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FLAT TURNS

U S E YO U R B O DY Turn your body in the same direction as your line of vision (this isn’t the same as leaning in) – this will help to steer the bike where you want it to go.

turning tips More pointers for lawless lat corner technique

BRAKE FIRST Get any braking done before the turn. Braking negatively affects a bike’s handling and grip, by making it stand more upright and potentially skid out. With flat corners, it’s better to go slow in and fast out, and build up slowly until you’re hitting them quicker and quicker.

PICK YOUR LINE Spot a smooth line to follow – bumps will make it harder for your tyres to maintain contact with the ground – and try to set up wide to help straighten out the corner.

TRUST YOUR TYRES Leaning the bike over on its side means you’ll be engaging the side knobs on your tyres. Trust them – they’re surprisingly grippy.

STAY SMOOTH

STAY U P R I G H T Lower your outside pedal and heel, to shift your weight over the outside of your bike. Make sure you don’t lean in with your body, because keeping yourself more upright than the bike is how you’ll get pressure over the tyres to find traction.

Avoid quick movements up/down or left/right, because they’ll disrupt your balance and lessen the pressure on the trail, losing you valuable traction.

STAY CENTRED Don’t lean forward onto the bar too heavily. This will impede your ability to lean the bike sideways and move it underneath you (a bike that’s too long will also have this effect).

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BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

CUT WIDE A P P R OAC H Always adjust your speed before entering the turn, so that you can roll through it rather than having to pedal or brake.

BERMS The berm, or banked turn, is a common trail feature used to help the rider keep their flow and maintain grip in the turns.

In a conventional flat turn you need to lower your outside pedal in order to help you get your body in the right position, weight the tyres correctly and improve ground clearance as the bike leans over.

But in a berm the bike remains upright in relation to the surface beneath its tyres, so there’s no need to lower a pedal or adjust your riding position drastically – good technique here is more about the approach and line choice.

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To make full use of the berm, cut wide to enter the turn as the berm starts. Keep your head up and look ahead round the turn.

AT TAC K STA N C E Maintain a typical trail riding position – elbows out, heels dropped and preferred foot forwards. Keep your bodyweight driven through your feet and stay central over the bike.

BERMS

COMPLETE THE TURN Aim to use the full length of the berm, which will push you out into the right place on the trail. Stay off the brakes until you’re off the berm.

LOOK AHEAD As you’re turning you should be looking at least two or three bike lengths in front of you, to give yourself enough time to react to any hazards.

INSIDE LINE

OPTIMUM LINE

Because this turn is much tighter, you’re forced to slow right down and need to weight your outside pedal when you’re in the turn to help the tyres grip. You’ll also exit the turn wider – and could even go over the edge of the berm.

The bermed line gives maximum grip because the tyres are weighted directly from above. It’s the fastest and safest way to corner, and is also clear of the loose dirt and rocks on the inside of the turn.

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BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

FIX CORNERING MISTAKES When you hit a corner well, you know it – the bike just grips, you exit with speed and the whole process feels effortless. But what if you find that you’re losing all your speed in turns, sliding out or, even worse, crashing?

The key to learning to corner confidently and smoothly is to avoid some common mistakes and build consistency. Here are four things that a lot of riders get wrong – and how to fix them.

TURNING THE B A R N OT L E A N I N G THE BIKE A lot of riders don’t lean the bike properly in corners. A bike turns from leaning, not from turning the handlebar.

Practise giving the bike freedom of movement under you. One key technique that helps this freedom is dynamic elbow movement.

STA R I N G AT T H E FRONT WHEEL Looking at your front wheel can mean you make small, pointless adjustments to the steering. This unbalances the bike. Mid-corner adjustments should be made using feedback through the bike, when you feel something happening, not based on what you see in front of your wheel. When you get to the main leaning point of the corner, look for a specific point further down the trail where you need to be heading – a tree or something off to the side. This will help stop you staring at the front wheel.

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CORNERING MISTAKES

BRAKING IN THE CORNER, N OT B E FO R E I T This one sounds obvious, but we all brake in the middle of corners too often. A good way to overcome this is to find a turn to practise on and use a marker to work out your braking point. Put the marker on the straight leading into the corner, a good distance back from it. Ride the corner.

If you hit it confidently, move the marker closer to the turn and try again. If not, either try again or move the marker back a bit.

advanced tips We’re huge believers in experimentation during skills practice and training. Here are three things you can play with to help you with your cornering

1.RIDE HEIGHT

P E DA L L I N G O U T OF THE CORNER We’re sure you’ve been there, chasing your mate who’s a little bit faster than you. You start to pedal out of the corners to keep up, but he/she keeps pulling away. That’s because pedalling out of the corners unbalances the bike, reducing grip, and therefore speed. The best way to gain speed from a corner is to ride it correctly. Then you can add pedalling.

Practise hitting the same turn repeatedly while adjusting how low you get your chest relative to the handlebar. Try really low (by bending your arms a lot), try really high and experiment until you find the optimum position. Generally, a lower riding position should give you more front-end control, but find the right balance for you – and the corner you’re riding.

2.PEDAL POSITION People often argue over whether you should have your outside pedal down or not when cornering. The answer is that it depends on the turn. Practise riding a variety of corners where you keep your cranks flat and outside foot down.

You can also try adjusting how far down you have your outside foot. Figure out what gives you the most grip and stability.

3.PUMPING Try ‘pumping’ – extending your legs to push the bike into the corner – at different stages in the turn. After a bit of practice, you’ll start to find the ‘sweet spot’ and begin bouncing out of the corner. This is a more advanced skill, so build up to it slowly.

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BLUE TRAIL SKILLS

FAST JUMPS A good blue trail should be easy enough for novices but also fun and have some options to keep faster riders interested. Jumps – or bumps – on blue trails usually have mellow transitions so they’re no problem to ride over at steady speed and there’ll often be a landing of similar size. Here we’re going to look at ‘squashing’ a small jump to maintain your speed and flow. The main aim is to squash the takeoff to maintain control and momentum, then pump the downslope to gain extra velocity on the landing. You’ll need a bit of speed for this, but build it up steadily.

A P P R OAC H

S Q UA S H

Start at a speed you’re comfortable with. Approach in your attack position, glance at the upslope then look over it. As the bike goes up the transition, let it pivot – bend your arms and keep your bodyweight central and over the BB.

As you feel your weight increase into the upslope, push with your feet then quickly unweight, allowing the bike to come up below you.

Simultaneously push the bars forward so the seat rises in front of your hips.

ALL IN THE TIMING The stage at which you squash a takeoff will depend on jump size.

You can only squash the top of big ones, so time it later. Squash the lip too early or hit it stiff-legged and you’ll be bucked on to the front wheel. Too late and you’ll go upwards or do a ‘dead sailor’.

PUMP IT

PUMP BUMPS Pump bumps are small rollers that can be a single lump or a series of undulations. What makes them different from jumps is that they’re generally on sections of trail that are quite slow, so it’s better to pump them to gain speed rather than try to jump them.

Pumping is a way of generating speed from the trail without pedalling. It’s a simple concept – apply pressure to a downslope and you’ll gain forwards momentum. At steady speeds you can pump small bumps with both wheels on the ground, but at faster speeds it can be better to let the front wheel come off the ground (a move known as a ‘manual’) and pump with the rear wheel only.

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ABSORB 1 Just before the front wheel hits the upslope, compress the bike into the ground and bend your arms and legs so the bike can change angle and is light on the upslope.

MANUAL PUMP IT

APPROACH You should be in your neutral position, with your weight through your feet and your hands light. A bit of speed will help, but keep it under control. Spot the upslope so you can work out your timing, then look down the trail, covering both brakes.

1 MANUAL As the front wheel reaches the bottom of the upslope, compress the front of the bike and push it forwards to lift the wheel off the ground. The aim is to avoid the wheel touching the ground until you’re over the top of the bump.

FAST JUMPS PUMP BUMPS

L A N D L OW Aim to land in a low position so that you’re compressed and primed to pump the landing for extra speed. Ordinarily you’d be aiming to absorb the landing, but in this case you’re low so the impact forces won’t be that great.

PUMP Now push hard with your legs as you traverse the downslope in order to increase your weight and generate extra forward momentum, then finally return to your attack position and prepare yourself for the next feature.

STAY D OW N If you’ve timed it right the bike will be unweighted over the top of the jump, so you’ll carry on moving forward rather than up, and the bike will push up underneath you.

Stay low and relaxed ready for the landing.

PUMP 2 You’ll now be in a compressed position on top

3 ABSORB If you’re tackling a series of bumps, allow your

of the first bump. Just as your rear wheel clears the upslope, push with your legs to pump the downslope.

Timing is essential here.

legs and arms to bend again so you can absorb the upslope of the next bump. You’ll know if your timing is out because you’ll lose speed.

2 ABSORB With the front wheel clear of the upslope

PUMP 3 Just as the rear wheel clears the upslope,

and in the air, and your arms extended, you now need to absorb the upslope with the rear wheel. Allow your knees to bend as you feel the rear wheel roll up the upslope.

push down with your feet on to the downslope while still holding the front wheel up. Transferring your weight on to the rear wheel and downslope will increase your speed.

4 PUMP Push hard with your legs into the downslope to generate as much speed as you can. Using your legs as much as possible will help you to generate better power.

4 ABSORB As the rear wheel reaches the next upslope, allow it to come up between your legs and the bike to level out, then repeat steps 2-4. When you reach the final downslope, let the front wheel drop and, if there’s space, pump for extra speed.

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RED TRAIL

SKILLS Time to step it up and attack those red runs

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

RAIL RUTS Ruts are one natural trail feature that can turn even the best bike handler into a panicked and out-of- balance novice.

Follow this advice from Scotland’s best rut rider Joe Barnes and you’ll soon be flowing down them easier than the water that helped create them!

LOOSE 1 STAY Let the bike move around beneath you. Unlike normal riding, where you try to ride with a solid position on the bike, in ruts you need to constantly move and balance with the bike. If the bike moves left, then you move to the right to keep it upright.

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LEVEL 2 PEDALS It’s important to ride

EASY ANCHORS 3 No sudden braking. Hard

with your feet fairly level. This gives you space to dip from side to side more easily and stops your feet hitting the edges of the ruts.

braking will cause the bike to get dragged into the edge of the rut and you’ll lose balance. Use a bit more rear than front brake and feather them as you go to keep control and balance. A handy tip for this is to run your brakes with more lever travel so they’re less grabby.

LOOK AHEAD 4 Keep your head up and look where you’re going.

Although rut riding can be slower than trail centre trails, it’s still important to keep your eyes up to help with balance and predicting what’s coming ahead.

GO FOR GLORY 5 Finally, when you get yourself set, don’t forget to properly hoof it!

RUTS BERMS

POWER OUT OF BERMS Exit speed in corners is an easy place to gain or lose time in a race. The way pros link berms into straights is seamless – they appear to come out faster than they went in. A lot of this is down to identifying the correct braking point and pumping, but hitting the pedals at the right time and getting max power down makes a big difference too. Wheelieing as you exit a turn means you can get your legs straighter and put full power through the pedals. It also overcomes the risk of stalling as you exit, without needing to shift down a gear. This technique requires you to be able to pump berms and wheelie, so get comfy doing both those things first.

EYES UP When powering out of a turn, it’s easy to oversteer by pulling the handlebar round too far. The key to preventing this is to keep your eyes up and look straight down the trail at where you want to go.

Manualing out Pulling a manual as you exit a berm looks cool and feels pretty damn great

1. HIT THE APEX Enter the berm as you would any other corner – central on the bike and balanced. Powering out of a turn is about generating forward momentum, and you get that by springing out of the apex – the point where the G-force is sucking you in and the bike wants to compress. Feel where that is and exaggerate its effects by pushing down on the pedals and handlebar.

2. LEAN BACK

M A N UA L While not a useful technique for going fast, manualling out of turns does look pretty cool. Follow the first two steps, but instead of pedalling to keep the front wheel up, shift your weight back and try to find the balance point. It’ll take some practice, but once you’ve nailed it, you’ll look like a boss!

As the suspension rebounds, the bike will want to accelerate forward. Accentuate that motion by pushing your hips forward and simultaneously pulling back on the bar, like you would to manual.

At this point you should be keeping the cranks level and your heels dipped, to help tip the bike onto its back wheel.

3. POWER DOWN As you feel the back wheel rise, put some strong power strokes through the pedals while still pulling back on the bar. You’ll probably find that, after a couple of rotations, your gearing is too easy, but that’s OK. The aim of this technique is to get you back up to speed and prevent a stallout, from being in too hard a gear.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

RAIL TURNS Consistent cornering means faster times for UNNO Factory Racing rider Greg Williamson, but also more speed, flow and fun for you on the trail. Follow these tips and you’ll be flying round the turns in no time!

SET UP Cornering is all about ‘VPD’ – vision, position and direction. Your vision allows you to set your position on the trail, which decides your direction. From entry to exit, rolling into any type of turn at any speed requires you to keep your head up and eyes to the front. This allows you to choose the right cornering technique to apply at the right time.

BRAKING No matter the type of turn or the entry speed required, getting all of your braking done before you hit the sweet spot, or apex, is a must. This keeps your bike balanced and allows you to get maximum grip from your suspension and tyres.

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RAIL TURNS

FO C U S My number one tip for consistent railing of turns is to not focus on what you’re doing with your body. Instead, think about what you’re doing to the trail – pushing berms away from you, or drilling your tyres into the floor with hand pressure. External focus equals gains!

A P P LY I N G PRESSURE Your contact points with the bike – your feet and hands – are the key to railing turns successfully. The sharper the turn (whether bermed or not), the more pressure you need to apply through the bar and pedals. Bermed or banked turns require more pressure from your lower body. Flat or off-camber turns require more even pressure applied through your upper and lower body, with your inside hand being key to front wheel grip.

corner types How Greg Williamson builds on these basics to tackle every turn

BERMS Greg does all his braking before entering the turn. He spots the sweet spot for applying pressure early and, coming in relaxed and balanced on the bike, ‘punches’ it with the perfect amount of pressure needed, depending on how tight the corner is. He rides with his feet level in most berms, and shifts his vision to the exit of the turn very early.

FLAT TURNS The trail surface (grip and obstacles) dictates how Greg handles a flat turn. He leans more in tight bends and uses more finesse in open corners. As always, he brakes early and, as soon as he sees the corner, he’s looking for the best place to put his tyres, to avoid obstacles that’ll affect the bike’s lean angle.

SWITCHBACKS Riding linked turns is all about linking up the basic techniques. Greg gives himself room to move by setting up early and entering the first turn as high/wide as possible. This is a breadand-butter technique, and allows him to shift his eyes to the second turn earlier and, as a result, pick the best set-up and entry point for that corner, too.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

SAIL OVER WET ROOTS Riding wet roots can sometimes seem like the mountain bike equivalent of Russian roulette – you feel like it’s not a matter of if, but when, you’re going to hit the deck. Fortunately, good line choice, commitment and proper technique will help you clean them rubber side down.

1 VISION Choose a straight line

2 MOMENTUM Once you’re happy with

and aim your front wheel so it’s perpendicular to the biggest roots (ie. hits them head on).

Try to avoid large diagonal roots, which will direct your tyres off the trail.

your basic technique, try hitting root sections a touch faster.

Slowing down may help your confidence but it’s a bad idea because it means your tyres will be in contact with the slippery roots for longer.

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HEAD UP 3 Have confidence in your line choice and speed, then get your chin up and look over the roots at the trail ahead to help your balance.

4 PRESSURE

CONTROL

Ride root sections more smoothly by unweighting your wheels individually as they hit large roots. Do this by popping very small manuals and rear wheel lifts.

BALANCE 5 From a perfectly balanced body position it’s easier to recover a slip and your suspension will work better. Support your weight with your legs, get your heels down and don’t hang back off your handlebar or lean back. Stay loose and relaxed, otherwise you’ll ping off the roots rather than absorb them.

WET ROOTS WHEEL LIFT

FRONT WHEEL LIFT You’ll often need to lift your front wheel up when riding off-road – particularly when climbing – because once roots and small rocks get in your way, you can quickly lose much of your momentum.

Once you’ve learned the basics, you’ll be able to apply the skill to more technical trails. Being able to lift the front wheel ultimately means you can spend more of your time riding, and less of it pushing.

D I STA N C E For an obstacle as high as your axle, you’ll need to pull up about two wheel lengths from the step.

Too early and you risk dropping the wheel before you’ve reached the obstacle. Too late and you may hit the obstacle head on.

A P P R OAC H You first need to know when to lift your wheel. Generally the bigger the obstacle and the faster you’re going, the earlier this needs to be.

1 COMPRESS Before you pull up, compress your arms, storing energy to release as you pop up.

2 PULL UP As you spring up, pull up and back with your arms to get the front wheel on to the obstacle.

FORWARD 3 WEIGHT As soon as your front wheel comes up, move your weight forward to un-weight the rear wheel, so that it follows up on to the obstacle.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 39

RED TRAIL SKILLS

LOOSE DESCENTS Get your position, speed and line sorted to stay in control

B O DY POSITION Keep your chin up and look far ahead. Drop your heels to help keep your weight over the bottom bracket and make it easier to maintain balance if your front or rear wheel momentarily loses grip and the bike starts to drift.

BRAKING Never use the front or the rear brake on its own. Apply both brakes gradually together, then use slightly more rear brake to avoid your front tyre drifting if it’s really loose.

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LOOSE DESCENTS

LEAN THE BIKE Lean the bike underneath you to corner, using your hips to turn it.

Don’t lean with the bike as you would in a berm because you’ll push the tyres away from your centre of gravity and lose grip.

SPEED Keep your speed in check, because the last thing you want to have to do is brake aggressively where there’s no braking traction.

Avoid skidding or using the front brake too much because it can cause the bike to wash out from underneath you.

T R ACT I O N If the descent is wide, look for the best traction to brake and turn.

This is usually on the worn line, which has been cleared of gravel by other riders. Drifting too far out on a loose turn will change your level of grip and cause you to lose balance.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

LOOSE CORNERS Pick a line & stay loose to avoid being caught out in tricky turns

LEAN When cornering, lean your bike in the direction you want to go. To do this, straighten your inside arm while keeping your body upright. This way, you’ll remain in balance above the bike but the inside edge of your tyres will be forced into the ground for extra grip. Dropping your outside foot will lower your centre of gravity even more and increase your stability in the turn.

advanced tips DRIFT

PRESSURE CONTROL

BALANCE

A consistent loose surface can be perfect for getting your drift on.

Lean the bike right over to the point where the tyres break traction, go light and let them slide. Stay off the brakes, look up and stay loose.

If you want to increase the amount of grip you’ve got in a loose corner, compressing your bike into the ground by pushing through the pedals and making it heavier will provide extra traction.

Keeping your core mass in balance over the bottom bracket makes it easier to correct a slip or control a drift. Try not to hang back off your handlebar because this will put your weight too far back.

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LOOSE CORNERS

PRE EMPT RELAX Loose corners can be unpredictable.

Keep your arms and body relaxed and loose so you can iron out any changes in grip and absorb little slips. Keep your head up and focus beyond the exit of the corner to help your balance.

Scan the ground as you approach the corner. Look for areas with the best grip, and adjust your line so you can do most of your turning on these grippier sections. If it’s all loose, get ready to slip before you regain any grip.

COMMIT When the ground is loose it’s important to choose your line and commit to it because any quick changes in direction or sudden braking will likely cause your front wheel to wash out. Try to do all of your braking before you start to turn, then focus on keeping your chest low, your head up and your weight central over your bike’s bottom bracket.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 43

RED TRAIL SKILLS

UPHILL SWITCHBACKS EYES UP From your local trail centre to remote high-alpine paths, switchbacks are a necessity for trail builders seeking to steer our favourite tracks up steep mountainsides. Former downhill and enduro world champ Tracy Moseley explains how to negotiate them with confidence.

PICK A GEAR Select a gear that allows you to pedal around the whole turn so that you don’t have to shift mid corner, losing precious speed and balance.

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Set up as wide as you can with your front wheel. As you approach the corner, lift your head and eyes and look around the turn to spot your exit line.

UPHILL SWITCHBACKS

DOWN AND OUT Be ready to shift your weight forward by moving to the front of the saddle and dropping your elbows. This will keep the front wheel down as you exit.

bike set-up Some small tweaks to your set-up can really help when it comes to tackling uphill hairpins.

SADDLE ANGLE Having your saddle level will stop you sliding off the rear when riding uphill. It’ll also allow you to shift your weight forward more easily when you need to and help keep you balanced in the centre of the bike.

SADDLE HEIGHT When you’re learning to ride switchbacks, dropping your saddle a centimetre or two (if you have a dropper post) just as you reach the turn will allow you to move around the bike a fraction more, helping you to keep your balance. When you’ve mastered the skill, try to ride at your normal seat height to maximise your power and efficiency.

SHOCK SET UP

STAY S M O OT H As you get to the crux of the corner, commit to the move and attack the pedals if power is needed. You can lightly drag the rear brake to aid slow-speed control.

If your rear shock has a ‘climb switch’ or ‘pedal lever’, you can use it to firm up your suspension.

As well as reducing energy-sapping pedal bob (useful on long uphill drags), this will help your bike maintain its static (unsagged) geometry. With the rear suspension riding higher in its travel, you should find it easier to get around tight uphill turns.

FORE/AFT POSITION Move your saddle along the rails until you find the spot where your knee is directly above the pedal axle with the crank arm in the 3 o’clock position.

Sit further forwards than this and your knee will be in a weaker position, further back and you’ll lose weight over the front wheel.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

TIGHT TURNS EXIT SPEED

Consecutive corners can be tricky, especially if they’re steep. Here’s how to ind your low...

The final turn is what matters in a sequence of corners. You want to be in the right place and gear to power out of it. If safe to do so, go back and practise the section until you get what you want out of it. Try new lines and experiment.

LEAN Drop your inside knee slightly and direct your hips, torso and head in the direction you want to go.

Assist the lean by putting pressure on the handlebar, particularly the inside grip. Don’t hang off the back of the bike – find a balanced position between both wheels.

LINE CHOICE The main line may not be the best, so look around and be creative.

In tight turns, look for a way to open up the angle. Identify the widest (smooth) line into the corner – this may mean hopping onto the outside bank. Then aim for the apex.

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TIGHT TURNS

R EC C E Check out tricky sections on foot first. This will help you identify lines and hazards, and let you see what comes after the turns, which will help with gear choice and exit lines. Working your way up from the bottom can teach you a lot about where you want to end up.

E N T RY S P E E D Good control in the first turn will set you up for the next one. Get your braking done in the straight line before the turn and try to be off the brakes when you hit the apex or change direction. Dragging your brakes hinders traction and makes it hard to lean the bike.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

BUMP JUMP Jumping a bike isn’t just great fun, it’s practical too. Bump jumping uses similar skills to bunnyhopping, and can be used to get the bike airborne and pop over obstacles on the trail.

Once you’ve got the technique nailed, you’ll be able to find take-offs and landings on every trail you ride, increasing your speed as you go.

When you use a combination of pumping, manualling and bump jumping, it’s possible to take sections of trail at high speed with relative ease, when other riders might be pedalling and grabbing handfuls of brake.

COMPRESS 1 Pulling up at the right moment is vital, so be ready by compressing beforehand, ready to spring upwards on the bike.

REAR WHEEL PICK UP 4 Let your legs come up underneath you to allow the rear wheel to get airborne.

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THE TA K E O F F Even a small root is enough to get a couple of feet in the air.

Don’t start with anything too big or square though, or the kick will be quite harsh. Begin with a small root and work on your timing – this is key in gaining decent air while maintaining control.

BUMP IT 2 Pull up just before the front wheel hits the root and as the wheel hits the root, will amplify what you’re doing.

EVEN OUT 5 When you’re in the air now, you need to reposition to prepare for landing. Come up on the bike and find your landing area.

LANDING ZO N E As soon as you’ve taken off you should be looking at the landing zone and preparing to land the bike as softly as possible.

STAND TALL 3 Stand tall on the bike, un-weighting the rear wheel as it hits the bump.

THE BLOW 6 SOFTEN If you can, find a transition – even the smallest of banks will help. If not, use every bit of your body to absorb the impact.

BUMP JUMPS ROCK GARDENS

PICK LINES IN ROCK GARDENS

T H E S M O OT H L I N E This is the path of least resistance, which avoids the biggest holes and rocks. Body position is key here, so that you can adjust your direction as you go. Lean too far back and you won’t be able to steer accurately. Balance too far forward and you’ll get caught by a bump.

So find a centred position and use your eyes to guide you through, always looking ahead. Stay relaxed and keep your feet level.

Rock gardens add both fun and fear to the trail. If you get them wrong, you’re in for a wild ride, but when you get them right, you can carry your flow and keep on smiling as you go. Here are our top tips for choosing the best way to negotiate them in safety and style.

T H E D I R E CT L I N E This is as straight as possible, regardless of the obstacles. Momentum is your friend, to help carry you over holes and rocks.

Adopt a centred position on the bike, with your heels down and elbows up – you’re going to need your arms and legs to act as extra suspension to smooth out the trail. Spot your exit and aim for it.

Keep relaxed so you can maintain balance.

1 LOOK BEFORE

YOU LEAP It’s always best to

inspect a rock garden before you attempt to ride it. Choose a line that suits your ability and build up to hitting it faster and faster.

2 VISION Potentially the most important tip for all mountain biking, and a necessity here. Keep your eyes looking where you want to go, not at the obstacles you’re riding over. This will help keep you in balance and on-line.

GET AIRBORNE For experts, the smoothest way over a rock garden is often to jump the whole thing – providing it’s not too long, or at least the gnarliest section isn’t. You’ll need to have picked out a precise line and exit before attempting this. Body position is crucial if you land into more rocks and are too far forward, you may get slammed into the handlebar.

3 BODY POSITION

FEET LEVEL 4 Striking your

It’s important to find a central position on the bike and use the flex in your arms and legs to smooth out the rocks and holes as best you can.

pedals on rocks is asking for trouble. Keeping your feet level helps avoid the rocks and will also keep you in balance and let you move around on the bike as needed.

SPEED IS 5 YOUR FRIEND Carrying speed can help smooth a rock garden out, because your wheels won’t fall into every hole.

But only go as fast as your skill level allows.

Gradually build up to pushing yourself faster.

LIGHT 6 STAY ON THE BIKE In small rock gardens, you can preload your suspension just before you enter and use the rebound to help unweight the bike as you hit the rocks. Get this right and you’ll glide over the top.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS PROGRESSION

ROCK STEPS

If you feel like your body weight is being thrown forwards while tackling a slab, you’re doing something wrong – and you should look to correct it before moving on to bigger features.

It may be that you’re not letting the bike pitch forwards on the transition or that you have too much weight on your hands when the bike changes angle.

Steep rock slabs and roll-ins are common on many red trails. They’re generally found on slower, more technical trails rather than fast, flowing ones, and most of the time there’ll be an option to duck round them – a lot of riders fear going over the handlebar, especially on big drops.

Controlling your speed and adjusting your body position correctly will keep you safe and make the transition from flat to steep smooth and balanced, meaning you’ll be able to maintain control. Momentum can help if you become unbalanced, but we recommend starting at a slow pace so you can feel your balance on the bike before progressing to bigger rock slabs.

LOW ON APPROACH 1 STAY Look for a straight, clean line and control your entry speed so you’re approaching the slab with enough pace to remain in balance. Stand up on the pedals and get a little bit lower on the bike by lowering your chest toward the bar.

USE THE ROCKS Use sloping rocks or ledges to help you get your front wheel up more easily or to hop higher. Hone your technique by hopping a single rock.

ROCK FEATURES Rocky features on manmade trails are placed so as to challenge a rider’s technical ability and give routes a more natural feel.

In this case we’re looking at negotiating a rocky outcrop on a flat trail just before a corner, which means you want to carry as much speed as you can. This means choosing a line that avoids your wheels directly hitting any speed-sapping square edges – or hopping them if you can. To keep your flow you’ll need to choose the technique that best matches your speed.

There’s no point hopping if you can only clear a couple of the rocks.

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APPROACH Approach in your neutral position, arms and legs flexed and looking forwards. You’ll have looked at the feature already so you know what to expect. If you’re travelling fast enough to clear it, you can try hopping it. If not, you’re better off rolling it.

ROCK FEATURES

TO STEEP 2 TRANSITION As the front wheel transitions from flat to steep, allow your arms to extend and bend your knees so the bike can change angle while your upper body remains at the same angle. The bike will effectively pivot underneath you.

OVER BB 3 WEIGHT Keep your body weight supported by pushing

TO FLAT 4 TRANSITION Allow the bike to level out by extending

your heels down, and look up. If your weight is over the bottom bracket then you’re in a safe place. The bike should be in front of you and the saddle will have moved forwards between your legs.

your legs and letting your arms bend so you return to your neutral position. If there’s enough grip, you can drag the brakes evenly from start to finish to control your speed.

ROLL IT

UP 1 GET Pop your front wheel on to the first rock with a small manual. Compress your fork, then push the bike forward to unweight the front, then the rear by easing up on the pedals.

LOOSE 2 STAY Hold the line you’ve chosen and relax so the bike can move underneath you. Focus on keeping your weight over the bottom bracket. You may have to unweight the front and rear wheels while you’re on top.

OUT 3 ROLL Allow the bike to pitch away from you by keeping your weight over the bottom bracket and letting your arms extend, meaning you can maintain your neutral position on the downward-sloping rocks.

JUMP IT

1 POP Manual to get your front wheel up then drive your hips upwards by standing tall, pushing down with your feet and pulling on the bar to get your body as high as you can – the bike will follow. You can use a sloped rock for extra height.

OUT 2 LEVEL Push the bar forward to level the bike out

SOFTLY 3 LAND Get the bike to match the landing angle and

and stay relaxed while you’re in the air. Your aim is to land smoothly, so when approaching you should’ve judged your speed and pop to make sure you clear any square edges or rough rocks.

aim to land with your arms and legs extended to absorb as much of the impact as possible. Aim to soak up most of it through your legs.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

STEEP ROLL-INS Riding down steep slopes is fun but can be really intimidating if you haven’t tried it before. With the right line in and out though, it’s possible to tackle any slope. And no matter how steep they are they don’t actually get any harder – just a little scarier! The skill involved in riding sharp banks can be applied in other trail situations too.

In this example we’ve used a steep and short roll-in that’s fairly common. As always, start small before rolling off something you wouldn’t walk away from if you were to get it wrong...

STAGE 1

OVER THE EDGE P R E PA R E POSITION Have your best foot forwards, and be out of the saddle, looking at the edge of the slope.

Speed tips KEEP IT SLOW Don’t ride off too fast – if you do, you risk taking off and flat landing.

STAY CONTROLLED Keep your speed controlled – aim for a slow walking pace.

BRAKE Slow right down, maintain a steady line, and drag the brakes as the front wheel goes over the edge.

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WEIGHT B AC K Slide off the back of the saddle to keep your weight back.

LET IT ROLL Let the bars move away from you, allowing your bike to pivot underneath you.

STEEP ROLL INS

STAGE 2

speed & line

FREEFALL

Keep your head up.

LOOK

BRAKING ON A HIGH SLOPE If you’re riding a longer, steeper or higher slope, you may want to control your speed on the way down.

There’s no weight on the rear wheel, so you’ll need to use the front brake. Without locking it, you’ll be surprised by how much power you can put through it. Try on a smaller slope first, rolling as slowly as you can – if you get squirrelly, release the brakes and you’ll straighten up.

HEAD POSITION

Keep your eyes on the runout area.

BALANCE YO U R W E I G H T Your bodyweight should stay behind the saddle, but allow your elbows to bend rather than keeping your arms pushed out in front of you.

LET GO Come off the brakes completely.

G OUT BRAKING If you need to lose speed fast after a steep slope, do your braking on the G-out.

The bike and your weight will be compressing into the ground, giving your tyres maximum grip. Make the most of it by braking on the exact moment you hit the G-out – grab a handful of brake while also stiffening your arms and legs.

STAGE 3

THE G-OUT B E N D J O I N TS Keep your arms and legs tense but allow them to move rather than lock them solid. As you G-out, the bike will speed up.

LINE UP AND RUN OUT One intimidating thing about rolling over a steep slope is not being able to see what you’re riding on until you’re on it. Stand at the edge of the drop and look at your line. Then line it up on the run-out with a tree or rock that you can see from your run-in. Use this point as a reference and trust your memory of the line down the slope.

R E ACT As the transition from the slope runs out to flat, your weight will pull you into the bike. This is known as a ‘G-out’, and you need to be ready for it.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

ROLLING A DROP-OFF

STAGE 1

OV E R THE EDGE

APPROACH

Let the front wheel roll over the edge.

If the drop-off is higher than your wheel then it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to roll off it without sending yourself over the handlebars, so exercise caution and have a good look the first time you try it.

bike & brakes SLAM YOUR SEAT Make sure your saddle is low and out of the way.

This will ensure that you don’t get caught off-guard and will help you get your bodyweight back off the bike .

CLEARANCE Be cautious of your chainring knocking the edge of the drop-off – if it’s mud it’s nothing to worry about, but chainrings can stick in logs. Your fork will compress on impact, bringing your chainring closer to the edge. If it strikes, keep rolling – don’t grab the brakes.

BRAKE CHECK Go as slow as possible, while still having enough motion to maintain balance. A slow walking pace is perfect.

EXTEND ARMS Allow your arms to extend as you lean back, and let the bike .

WARNING Make sure your chainring won’t foul the edge of the drop – your bike could stop dead and throw you over the bars. Argh!

STAGE 2

STAGE 3

LANDING

RUN OUT

Use your body weight to absorb the impact as best as possible and ride away.

NO BRAKES Don’t touch the front brake!

D I ST R I B U T E WEIGHT

I M PACT

If the drop is this could pitch you over the bars, so keep your weight as far back as possible.

As your front wheel hits the floor, your fork will compress, steepening your head angle.

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S M O OT H IT OUT

P R E PA R E FO R I M PAC T As your rear wheel comes down, the impact may be high.

ROLL DROPS

DROPPING A DROP-OFF

P U L L B AC K Pull back on the bars and lean back while driving your feet forwards.

This will pivot the bike on the rear wheel and get the front end up. You don’t want it to cometoo high, just enough so you don’t land front wheel first.

When dropping a drop-off, there’s less chance of crashing. It uses the manual technique to get the front wheel off the ground. Keep good rolling speed on entry and a good line and you can land drop-offs from a fair height.

STAGE 1

APPROACH

P R E PA R E If the run-out is good enough, more speed will help with stability.

It’ll mean you can meet with the ground too, as opposed to dropping straight down on to it. Make sure you’re rolling with your preferred foot forwards, and have your eyes on the take-off area and run-out.

STAGE 2

STAGE 3

THE DROP

ABSORB

STA N D TA L L As the rear wheel leaves the drop-off, stand tall on the bike to get a balanced position when in the air. This helps level the bike for landing both wheels at the same time.

ABSORB I M PAC T Keep your arms and legs straight and use their natural suspension travel and your whole body to absorb the landing. Head up, looking down the trail.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

PEDAL OFF A DROP-OFF

STAGE 1

APPROACH

PULL UP Pull up and back on the bars, and pedal hard. This will lift the front end.

When you come to a drop-off with low speed, and it looks dodgy, it’s safer to get the front wheel up and land both wheels together (or rear wheel first). By pedalling and pulling up, you can lift the front wheel easily. A higher drop will allow a full pedal rotation, starting – and ending – with best foot forwards. For smaller dropoffs, you’ll only get a half crank in – landing with your weaker leg forwards. At first this will feel odd, but practice on a kerb.

P E DA L Depending on your timing, you’ll have time for a half crank, or full rotation, before your rear wheel leaves the ground. Ideally get a full rotation in, but allow enough time to prepare for landing.

SET UP In a fairly low gear, set yourself up with your best foot forwards.

STAGE 2

LAND ON TWO WHEELS

THE DROP

Ideally you want to land on both wheels together, but you’ll inevitably land on the rear wheel sometimes, because pedalling will pull the rear wheel towards the ground.

Absorb as much impact as you can before riding away.

ST E A DY SPEED As the rear wheel leaves the drop-off, stop pedalling and prepare for landing .

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STAGE 3

LANDING

DROP OFFS

FLAT OUT DROP-OFFS

DROP TIPS Make the distance your bodyweight drops as small as possible – lower your centre of gravity on the top of the drop and extend the bike towards the landing in the air.

There’s nothing better than hitting drops flat out with confidence and not having to slow down.

Although they’re not entirely the same techniques, you’ll need to have practised small drops before speeding up to gain confidence and balance. Faster means further, so spot your landing and get ready for some airtime.

WEIGHT SHIFT LOOK AHEAD Approach in the stand strong position, slightly lower than normal. Keep your head up, spot your landing then look ahead.

Relax in the air and aim to get your weight back over your bottom bracket by extending your legs and arms ready for touchdown.

STA N D ST R O N G L A N D ST R O N G Aim to land both wheels together, absorb, stand strong and be ready for the next feature.

PRESSURE R E L E AS E Release the pressure under your feet before the rear wheel leaves the edge so your bodyweight is already dropping.

DROP & EXTEND Drop your hips back and down quickly as your front wheel reaches the edge, extending your arms to allow yourself to get back and really low.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

STA N D ST R O N G

L O O K TO THE EXIT

Keep your pedals level and support as much of your bodyweight as you can with your legs to deal with the g-forces.

Don’t be afraid to lean with the bike and really push your feet into the berm for extra grip.

There’s no point staring down at the berm once you’re in it.

Looking up and towards the exit will help to keep you balanced and bring you out of the lean.

G E T L OW As you’re about to lean into the corner, drop your chest and hips but keep your elbows high. This will make it easier to lean the bike, as well as lowering your centre of gravity.

OFF THE BRAKES Stay off the brakes when you’re in the berm because they’ll bring you out of the lean, making you more likely to overshoot the turn.

AGGRESSIVE BERMS On most trail centre corners you’ll find a berm.

The banking is there to help you lean more, allowing you to corner faster and carry more speed down the trail. ‘Aggressive berms’ are short berms with plenty of support that you can hit hard and even gain speed on. As with all corners, if you want to ride them fast you have to lean more. If you want to ride them really fast, you need to focus on maintaining a strong body position so you can deal with the cornering forces, and have pinpoint precision and timing to keep your wheels in the berm.

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LINE 1 You want to hit the centre of the berm. Too low and you’ll be on the flat, which means you’ll lose grip and slide up the berm. Too high and you’ll end up going too wide on the exit.

LOW AND LEAN 2 As you enter the berm make sure you get low and lean. If the berm has plenty of support then you can lean with the bike. If it doesn’t, lean the bike more than your body.

PUSH 3 Resist the g-forces by pushing with your legs in the centre of the turn to generate speed and transfer weight to your back wheel.

You may find you manual out of short berms.

AGGRO BERMS TABLETOPS

TABLETOP JUMPS

Troubleshooting Basic jumping on a simple tabletop is a straightforward technique, but it’s easy to get wrong. Most errors are due to the rider’s body position and balance before take-off. If there’s a problem, it’ll be exposed when the wheels leave the ground.

Work on your position if you’re finding it impossible to jump.

The great thing about tabletop jumps is that you can roll them before trying to jump them. We recommend doing this first because it gives you a good feel for the lip and an idea of what to expect from the jump. The aim is to land on the downslope – that way the landing will be smooth and will also give you speed. But the best technique will vary depending on your speed and the size of the jump. For example, if you’re going slow, you’ll need to ‘pop’ off the lip to make the landing. If you’re riding fast, you may be better ‘squashing’ it so you don’t overshoot the landing. In this case we’re doing a basic jump to reach the landing.

YOU CAN’T GET AIR

DEAD SAILOR

A weak body position means you’ll always collapse and soak up the lip.

Find a strong position on your bike.

Heavy feet, light hands!

If you end up shooting off to the side every time you jump, it’s probably because you’re stiffening up on the take-off. To jump you have to be relaxed and dynamic, like a goalkeeper.

Bounce and get loose!

BACK WHEEL GETS KICKED UP Shying away from the lip and leaning back will cause your back wheel to get kicked up. Bend your arms and allow the bar to come towards you up the lip, don’t get pushed backwards.

NO HEIGHT AND HEAVY LANDINGS You’re probably trying to pull the bike up and over the jump, which means you’ll land in a compressed position – bang!

5. L A N D S M O OT H LY

1 .C O M P R E S S

Aim to land softly, just as you would if you were going to land from a height on your feet. Absorb the landing with your legs and return to your neutral position as soon as possible so you’re ready for the next feature.

As you approach the lip, get low on your bike so you’re in a position ready to extend. Try to keep as much weight as you can through your feet, with your hands light, so the bike can rotate towards you and you stay in balance.

3. L E V E L O U T 2. E X T E N D Push against the lip by extending your legs to get your body moving upwards. The harder you push, the higher you’ll go. Timing is vital – many extend too early, meaning they travel up the lip out of shape and with straight legs.

Relax your arms and legs so the bike can come up underneath you. Keep looking forwards and focus on staying relaxed and in balance. If the front wheel is high, push the bar away from you to level the bike out.

4.NOSE IN Push the front end of the bike down towards the landing, but keep your head up and aim to take the majority of the impact with your legs. If you’re going to land on top, there’s no need to push the front wheel down.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

GETTING AIR Jumping is a skill that’ll serve you well and make riding more fun, whether it’s to clear a gap or simply hop over a root.

The move basically starts with good timing of a bunnyhop and progresses from there the faster you go. Start small and work your way up – sound fundamentals are key.

TA K E O F F

A P P R OAC H Jumping is all about gauging your speed, timing and getting set before the lip. Get your feet level, in a neutral position, and look up where you want to go. The compression at the base of the jump will give you an explosive linear movement to pop (jump) from.

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As you go up the face of the jump your weight will transfer from your arms to your feet, which will give you the force to preload with your legs, and make your front wheel light as you hit the top of the lip. Your heels should be slightly down through the take-off till you’re airborne.

GETTING AIR

RIDING LIGHT

A I RT I M E In the air, think about readjusting your balance and spotting the landing. Because the angle of your bike is changing (like you’re riding a rainbow), your weight needs to shift slightly forward to level it. To do this, shift your hips forward and raise your heels a little.

NOSE DOWN As the bike starts to go down, your arms will pull you forward slightly.

Angle your toes down to bring the bike into your body and shift your weight over the front a touch to get the nose pointing down and make both wheels match the slope of the landing.

LANDING You need to continually adjust your body position to match the natural arc of a jump. When you land with both wheels at the same time, your body acts like secondary suspension to absorb the impact equally through your arms and legs.

Be strong in your core, eyes up, and ride out of there like a champ!

advanced airtime FLAT PEDAL SKILLS

GO SLOW

BACK BRAKE TAP

Start on flat pedals and a hardtail if possible. Skills days at jump parks will develop good timing and control, and are fun. Try building little kickers and see how far you can go, getting faster and going further each time, learning how to pop and absorb the flat landing. The key is to start small and build up.

See how slow you can go and still clear a jump. BMX tracks are a good place to practise this, as the jumps are mellow and safe. Try starting closer to the jump or come in from a turn – it’s a fun challenge. You’ll be surprised with what is possible, and learn how to boost, rather than only using speed to clear jumps.

This is a good trick to know if you ever get in trouble with the front end too high on a jump. Pulling the rear brake in the air creates a force that brings the front end back down. Moto riders do it all the time. We’ve had to use this on steeper jumps when things go out of shape and we felt like we might loop out on the landing.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

JUMP OBSTACLES Ever wondered how to ride over an obstacle? Maybe the best approach is to jump it…

B R AC E , B R AC E Assuming you’ve spotted your landing earlier, before taking off, you should know where you want to touch down. As you come in for landing, you’ll naturally extend your arms and brace your legs to absorb the impact as you approach the end of your flight.

L A N D I N G PA D Now that you’ve hit the ground, wheels first, you should be looking up and ahead and focusing on the next section of trail, and the jump should be just a distant memory!

FLIGHT TIME Relax in the air and level your bike out. This is the moment to enjoy as the clatter from you bike stops.

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JUMP OBSTACLES

RIDING LIGHT

PULL UP The type of take-off will determine how hard you need to hoick on the bars for maximum lift. If it’s a ramped take-off, treat the jump like a normal double, but if there’s nothing to kick the wheels up off, like when clearing a tree stump, then you’ll have to use more of a bunnyhop technique.

TA K E O F F As you approach the feature, spot your take-off and landing. You’ll know whether you’ve got enough speed to clear the obstacle, so now is the time to commit! If you decide to bail it, make sure you scrub enough speed to avoid piling into whatever it is you’re planning to jump!

tips for success STEPPING UP YOUR GAME

TRANSFERRING THE SKILLS

SUCK IT UP

Don’t expect to jump like Evel Knievel right away – you’ll want to up your game in steps. Pick a single jump that you’re used to hitting and place a rock or small branch on the ground after it. Practise jumping over it and clearing it, slowly extending the distance you need to clear. Before long you’ll be jumping further than you imagined.

You’ll want to take this newfound skill to the trails to help you ride faster, smoother lines. Normally, there’ll be sections of trail that you can double, clearing a hole, some roots, rocks or other gnarliness. Once you’ve mastered and identified where and what the best things are to gap, you’ll notice you’ll be riding much smoother and quicker.

Now that you’re riding faster and hitting lines harder with your new skills, it might be worth considering setting up your bike to tackle bigger hits, by increasing your fork and shock’s compression damping and slowing the rebound down. If you’ve got firm suspension you can use that to help you pop off lips and obstacles.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

BOOST JUMPS He may be Tahnée Seagrave’s little brother, but there’s nothing small about the way Kaos rides his bike.

‘Skywards and sideways’ is the only way for him, and this is the secret to how he does it.

1 . A P P R OAC H Chilled, relaxed, calm or cool – use the adjective of your choice to help you roll into the take-off with all you need for a successful flight. Just like baking a cake, having all the ingredients weighed out before you start makes success much more likely. Approach with enough speed to clear the jump, but not so much that the time needed to press into the lip is too short. As with all MTB skills, keep your vision forward, fingers over the brakes, and aim to choose the smoothest, straightest line to your take-off point.

2 . P O ST U R E Stand relaxed and supple on your bike.

Successful jumping is all about using your limbs as natural springs, allowing them to store and release energy, and doing so across multiple joints is much more effective. To make this happen, staying tall and chilled in the last few metres before the jump’s transition is essential.

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BOOST JUMPS

4.PROGRESSION Start with bunnyhopping – this dynamic weight shift is the core of jump timing. From there, find progressively different take-offs to practise on, from long and flat to short and steep.

The more vertical distance you have, the better.

Starting with small lips to natural long-landing hills and then progressing to table-tops, step-downs and doubles is best for your confidence and learning.

Variety is king!

Top tIPS from kaos RELAX

3. TIMING Pause, push then pop! Wait until you feel the transition between flat ground and the start of the lip, then push into the upslope – to store up that valuable energy in your bike and body – and finally, pop for take-off. The timing of this process is the difference between smooth jumping with good height and the dreaded ‘dead sailor’. The only way to solidify it is practice. The number one tip? Both wheels should use the take-off for lift. Imagine your front wheel knocking a can over as you pop, then your back wheel finishing the job and crushing it.

As you approach the jump, you want to be confident and comfortable on your bike. Stand in a natural position – centred on your bike, with weight distributed evenly between hands and legs. This is the first step to a confident take-off, so you don’t loop out or go over the bars.

SPEED You always need the right speed for the jump, so if you’re taking it on for the first time, a couple of test runs are a good idea. When you’re finally confident enough with your speed, you can go for it.

WHIP IT! It’s the best feeling in the world! Practising and learning to whip takes time – a lot of time.

But even a little bit of ‘shape’ in the air makes it a lot more fun, and in certain situations it’s a lot safer than going stiff and dead mid-flight.

Always start by coming into the take-off at a slight angle, using that space to push off the lip to start moving the rear of the bike to that side as you ‘pop’!

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

FIX COMMON JUMPING FAULTS Jumping is, without a doubt, the most popular course any MTB coaching company can deliver.

This may be because more jump lines are cropping up at trail centres and getting airborne is super-fun – though really hurts when it goes wrong!

Speed and the jump’s trajectory will get you airborne, but not necessarily in a safe or efficient manner. Here are four common mistakes people make and how to overcome them.

TOO EARLY 1 JUMPING As with anything in life, timing is everything! Many riders try to take off too

PULLING UP 2 ‘Pulling up’ is a term often used in relation to jumping, but you shouldn’t rely

early, and this can cause issues, especially if you’re new to jumping. Firstly, you won’t actually jump that far, but it can also be unsafe and may even throw you over the bars if the back wheel gets bucked. You should be aiming to jump when YOU get close to the top of the lip, not when you think your front wheel is there.

on tugging on the handlebar to get airborne. This requires you to have equal strength through both arms, and if one is stronger than the other, you can end up pulling up more on that side of the bike, which can lead to a ‘dead sailor’ – that moment we’ve all had when you’re flying slightly sideways and can’t do anything to fix it. Instead, always jump through your legs. As you’re moving upwards, allow your arms to straighten and pretty much lock out. This will help the bike move into the air in a straight line.

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COMMON JUMPING FAULTS

YOUR LEGS 3 BENDING Ever wondered why your mate always goes higher than you on jumps? It could be because you’re not actually jumping! If you take off and bend your legs, allowing the bike to come to you, you’re ‘squashing’ the jump rather than sending it. Instead, aim to get your hips high and extend your legs so that they’re straight. Higher hips will mean your torso will be higher, so the bike can fly higher. To jump a bike you must actually ‘jump’. Bent legs can also cause problems when you land, so be quite positive with them and don’t fold down too low.

UNEVEN WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION 4 This is a common mistake many riders make during general riding, but particularly rears its head on jumps. Not jumping with even weight going through both legs/feet can cause you to dead sailor. To stop this happening, try to imagine that both pedals come straight out of the bike’s bottom bracket. This can encourage you to push through both feet when taking off. Stay balanced over the centre of the bike in midair and don’t move your weight too far back on landing or you’ll lose front wheel grip.

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RED TRAIL SKILLS

RIDE FLAT OUT The secrets to hitting your favourite trails faster than ever before

D O N ’ T WAV E R You must be 100 per cent confident in your own ability to ride the section and not hesitate. It helps a little if you know the trail, allowing you to push that bit harder.

STAY CENTRED Stand up on the pedals. Bend your legs slightly but keep them firm and drop your heels. Try to keep your weight distribution pretty even between the front and back wheels. If you lean too far back at high speed, your front wheel will get really light and you’ll lose the feeling for what’s happening between the wheel and ground.

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RIDE FLAT OUT

LOOK UP THE TRAIL Keep your head up and look ahead.

You can’t go fast if you’re looking down at your front wheel. The faster you go, the further up the trail you need to look. Always look where you want to go, not where you don’t want to go.

DON’T DROP YO U R A R M S Keep your elbows out and arms up. That way you can absorb bumps and hits better. If you drop your elbows, your ability to absorb bumps at high speeds will be poor and it’ll be sketchy to go fast.

CHILL OUT It’s essential to stay relaxed, no matter how fast you’re going.

You can’t fight the bike. Have good composure and let it flow beneath you.

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STEEP CLIMBS No matter how fit you are, long and steep climbs – like those found at Yorkshire’s ’Ard Rock Enduro – can sap your energy quickly if you go too hard. Focusing on efficiency will help you to last longer and feel fresher for the fun bits. Here are our top tips to help you reach the top without blowing a gasket.

SPIN 1 Select an easy gear that allows you to spin your pedals at a relatively high cadence.

Aim for around 60rpm (one pedal revolution per second) rather than cranking a hard gear.

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2 STAY HYDRATED You’re going to be working hard, which means you’ll also be sweating a lot – so it’s essential that you stay hydrated. Keep sipping on water or an isotonic sports drink and aim to drink at least 500ml per hour to replace lost fluids.

PACE 3 YOURSELF Ride at your own pace and don’t try to keep up with faster riders.

Pushing yourself into the red zone, even for a short while, will deplete your energy much quicker.

STAY SEATED 4 Where possible,

GET LOW 5 Lower your chest

stay seated and get into a good pedalling rhythm that you feel comfortable with. Save standing up for really steep sections.

and tuck your elbows in to get your weight low for a better climbing position.

YOUR 6 TILT SADDLE Most riders have a level saddle, which is great if you ride on level terrain.

At enduro races, where most of the pedalling is uphill, tilting the nose of your saddle down can give you a better climbing position.

STEEP CLIMBS DESCEND AT SPEED

DESCEND AT SPEED When you want to get to the bottom of the hill as fast as possible – whether you’re racing the ’Ard Rock or trying to beat your mates – just riding as hard as you can won’t cut it. To consistently post good times, you need to ride safe (to avoid crashes) and maintain your flow.

Here’s how to go super-fast, safely.

LOOK UP This seems like an obvious tip, but it’s often the hardest skill to conquer when the trail gets rough. Looking up helps your balance, allows you to spot lines and tricky sections, and gives you more time to react.

PUMP A N D P E DA L To gain and maintain speed on rough or fast sections of trail, it’s safer to pump than try to pedal. Make yourself heavy on downslopes, by pushing your body weight through the bike and into the ground, to gain extra speed. When the trail levels out or becomes smooth, get in a good gear and crank hard if you want to post a good time.

P R OT EC T YO U R E Y E S At high speeds, the air flowing past your face can cause you to squint, making it harder to see upcoming obstacles. Glasses or goggles will prevent this, as well as protecting your eyes from bugs, dust and trail debris.

KEEP H E E L S L OW

H AV E F U N STAY S M O OT H Don’t pinball from rock to rock or corner to corner – you’ll end up breaking yourself or your bike. Enter tight corners or tricky sections at a manageable pace, then let off the brakes and exit fast. Look for smooth and straight lines that you know you can ride safely.

Drop your heels and focus on carrying your body weight with your legs. This puts your centre of mass around the bottom bracket, where it’s low, safe and stable. When you brake, your weight will shift forward, so drop your heels even more so you don’t end up leaning on the bar.

Be confident and enjoy yourself.

Letting your nerves get the better of you is almost guaranteed to make your ride worse, as will overthinking.

Relax your grip on the bar and focus on having fun.

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BLACK TRAIL

SKILLS Okay, so you’re ready to mix it up on the black trails. Read on for the skills you’ll need…

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GNARLY ROOTS Roots can be very intimidating and many riders struggle to ride them.

They’re notorious for sending your wheels off line, especially when wet, and can also confuse your eyes – particularly sections like this, where there’s a lot going on. To ride roots well you need to commit to picking a line by spotting your exit point and aiming for it. You should avoid turning or braking while riding over roots, and where possible, hit them square on.

BRAKES Cover the brakes, but avoid using them until clear of the roots – they can be the difference between sticking your line and your tyres slipping.

EYES No matter how out of shape things get underneath you, stay focused on your exit point.

Tackling roots is all about your line from A to B.

LINE CHOICE Instead of making direction changes on roots, look for areas where you can achieve decent grip and straight-line between them.

ANGLE OF ATTACK It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if this root were wet, the tyre would slide off it. If you can’t hit roots square on, try to un-weight your bike as you hit them – or use the first root as a kicker and jump the rest!

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GNARLY ROOTS

JUMPING ROOTS Sometimes you’ll see a cluster of roots that’s sure to make your wheels slide out. Often, you’ll be able to pop off a lump or bump to clear them. Failing that, you may be able to bunnyhop them.

1 APPROACH Keeping your speed up, look for your take-off point – in this case the first root. As your front wheel hits it, pull up on the handlebar to bump the bike off the ground.

Let the rear wheel follow.

UP 2 PICK Let the bike come up underneath you by keeping your arms and legs relaxed.

But stay in the attack position so you’re ready to take control the moment you land or in case you get kicked off line.

3 LAND Extend your arms and legs to push the bike into the landing, like a cat landing from a fall. Keep your eyes focused on the trail ahead. Once you’ve absorbed the impact, get back into the attack position.

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BLACK TRAIL SKILLS

ROCK GARDENS Riding rock gardens well requires a mixture of looseness and strength, fluidity and stability.

You need to remain mobile on the bike to deal with the changing terrain beneath your wheels. But if you hit something you’re not expecting, you need to be in a strong enough position so that you can absorb it with your hands, wrists and feet.

B U M B AC K Drop your heels and keep your bottom as far back over the rear wheel as possible. Rocks can move around or knock you off your line, so you need to be braced and ready for things to change.

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ROCK GARDENS

EYES UP Look for the exit of the rock garden as you enter it and remain focused on where you want to go as you ride through the section. Keep your head up and arms dropped down behind the handlebar. You need to be braced into the bike, rather than over it or above it, to stop any unexpected impacts from pitching you forwards and over the bars.

CONTROL YO U R S P E E D Jabbing your brakes on will disrupt the balance of the bike. By feathering them you can still control your speed without causing the bike to pitch forwards or the tyres to lock up.

B A L A N C I N G AC T In rock gardens where the rocks move as you ride over them, you need to do some balancing with your body to keep your bike heading towards the exit. Use weight shifts to work around any rocks that are changing position, while keeping your bike pointing straight.

HIP IT! If the rocks are on a camber, point your hips up the slope to keep the bike tracking straight.

Weight the outside pedal, by dropping your heel, and you’ll sail across the rocks.

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DROP-OFFS Drops to downslopes are a common trail feature. Here’s how to land rubber-side down

THINK SPEED Set your speed early so you have time to set yourself up for the drop. Roll in at a medium pace to start with. Once you’re comfortable, you can try hitting it slower or faster.

A P P R OAC H Stand on the pedals, in a neutral position. Stay loose and relaxed, because you’re going to need to be dynamic. As you get closer to the edge, look for the landing but keep your head up.

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DROP OFFS

get the drop on drops

DROP & PUSH As you approach the edge, drop your body and push your bike forward with your arms. You’ll need to time this so that the rear wheel is unweighted as you go over the edge.

Try these tips to improve your technique

E XT E N D As you drop through the air, start to extend your legs to bring the bike back underneath you and make it level with the landing.

Keep looking up and think about landing over the pedals.

Focus Concentrate on what you have to do. If you have any negative thoughts in your head or any doubts, then find a way to overcome them and focus on what you need to do before attempting a drop.

Get low The lower you can get off the edge, the faster you’ll be able to hit the drop, so you won’t have to dab the brakes in fear of flying too far.

Leaning the bike over just before the edge can give you extra room to get lower, especially on biggerwheeled bikes.

DON’T L E A N B AC K Don’t confuse getting low with leaning back. Think about pushing the bike forward and dropping your hips. This may look like you’re leaning back but you’re definitely not – if you were leaning back, you’d be hanging off the handlebar.

LAND Aim to land in a strong position and take the impact with your legs. This will ensure you are ready for the next trail feature and in a strong position if you need to brake.

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BLACK TRAIL SKILLS

LAUNCH DROPS Picking the front wheel up to launch off an edge and land flat on two wheels is an essential skill for any mountain biker. It’s also one that we see a lot of riders struggling with, whether through dropping the front wheel too early or not picking it up at all, at the risk of catching a chainring or going over the bars. We reckon most people’s problems come from either wrong body position, timing or speed, or simply a lack of confidence.

If any of these ring a bell, read on and, with a bit of practice, soon you’ll feel much more confident diving headlong into technical trails.

1 TIMING The two key elements to riding a drop-off are driving your feet forward through the pedals and shifting your weight back, in order to make the bar go light and so lift the front wheel. These must be done as one simultaneous movement as you reach the lip of the drop.

Too early and you’re likely to drop the front wheel before the back wheel has cleared the lip. If you just try to pull up on the bar without changing your body position, you’ll struggle to lift the front wheel.

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FIRST STEPS 2 Playing in the street might sound a bit juvenile, but a kerb or small step is definitely the best place to learn drops.

The definite edge gives you a clear cue for when to initiate the movement, but the height isn’t so big that if you don’t manage it you’ll clip your chainring. Get the basics dialled here and then start increasing the size of the drops to build confidence.

SPEED IS YOUR FRIEND 3 Well, relatively speaking – you need to approach the drop with enough speed to easily generate the upward momentum required. Creeping off the edge too slowly means you’ll have to really yank back on the bar or add a pedal stroke to lift the front wheel, and makes side-to-side balance harder too. Similarly, don’t go in flat out, as your speed and trajectory will do the work for you and you won’t learn the proper technique.

FASTER AND BIGGER 4 Whether you’re plopping off a kerb or sending a cliff at Red Bull Rampage, the principles stay the same.

Once the mechanics become second nature, you can concentrate on spotting your landing. Going at full speed into a drop that doesn’t have a gap (ie. not a step-down), you’ll find you actually need to push down on the bars a little to ‘scrub’ the drop so your bike meets the landing earlier, rather than thinking about lifting the wheel up as you would when learning.

LAUNCH DROPS RIP ROCKS

RIP ROCKS & SURF SCREE Head out to the hills on the hunt for natural descents and you’re almost guaranteed to come across loose, rocky terrain. When the ground starts sliding around under your wheels, it’s easy to get out of shape, lose control and crash – and crashing on this stuff hurts! Follow these tips, though, and you’ll be skipping across shifting rocks with unfaltering composure.

HEAD UP EYES UP We’re all guilty of this to some degree – looking at the front wheel and not at what’s coming up. When you’re attacking high-speed, rocky straights, you want to consciously look further forward, so you can spot your line.

Look for the path of least resistance – often where there’s water flowing.

E ASY O N THE BRAKES Set up early and do your turning and braking on more solid ground. If you do have to brake mid-section, be gentle and feather the levers. Control your speed when the bike’s straight and upright, otherwise it can disappear from under you in an instant.

STAY L O O S E It’s the key to riding confidently in many situations, but it’s never truer than here. If you’re calm and relaxed, then the bike is free to move around beneath you. If you stiffen up, then whenever the bike is deflected, the force will be transmitted straight through to you, knocking you off-balance.

C A R RY S O M E MOMENTUM D R O P A F O OT When the ground is loose and uneven, trying to keep traction and corner with your feet up is unpredictable at best. Sometimes the best way is to grab a handful of back brake, drop a foot and slide your wheels through the scree.

It’s always fun and is sometimes the fastest and safest way too!

We’re not saying you should barrel headlong into sections with reckless abandon, but you’ll find that a little more speed will help your wheels to surf over the rocks, rather than getting hung up in the holes between them.

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STEEP TURNS If you want to speed up or ride steep turns with more flow, you need to fight the survival instincts telling you to grab the brakes and lean back – you’ll lose grip and control. The key is to commit to a balanced body position on the bike so you can lean into the turn.

It’s worth noting that all turns are different and will require technique tweaks. Outside foot level or down is a common question. For short steep turns with even a small bank to turn against, keep your feet level when you lean the bike. For longer turns where you need to use the edges of your tyres, try dropping your outside foot as you twist your hips to lean the bike to carve the turn.

HIT THEM HARDER If you want to ride steep turns faster then you’ll need to lean the bike more and make sure you’re in a good body position so you can hold your shape through the turn when forces increase.

LINE If the corner has some support or a banking, then aim to hit that to help you turn. If the corner is flat then take a wide line in order to make the turning radius shallower.

BRAKING Kill your speed before the turn so you can be off the brakes when you lean. If the turn is really steep, brake until you’re halfway in the turn before letting the front brake off first to keep grip, then let the rear off. By doing this you’ll still be able to lean.

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STEEP TURNS

B O DY POSITION Look around the turn – get low on your bike by lowering your chest towards the bar. By doing this you’ll have room to lean the bike in the turn. If the turn has no support, push your weight through the outside pedal.

1 APPROACH Set your speed so you can be off the brakes in the turn. Let off the brakes late and look to turn on a supportive banking or rut in order to help you lean. Make sure your weight doesn’t get thrown on to your hands if you brake hard.

WANDERING FRONT WHEEL The most common mistake riders make when taking on a steep turn is leaning back. Fall into this trap and you’re going to end up with straight arms – meaning you’ll be much less able to turn – and your front wheel will rapidly lose its line. It might go against every impulse of your body, but you need to get yourself low and commit yourself instead of shying away from the fall line.

COMPACT 2 GET Immediately before you enter the turn, move your chest downward and bend your knees to get lower, so you’ve got room to lean the bike over. You should aim to support your body mass using your legs.

3 RESET Return to your neutral position and look towards the next turn –you may have to brake again for it. If you’re taking on a series of turns, look to maintain a good average speed as opposed to over-braking between each bend.

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BLACK TRAIL SKILLS

B E N D AT THE HIPS This is the main change you should make to your position on the bike as you drop into a steep section. When the front wheel rolls over the edge of the chute, bend further forward from your hips. It may feel counterintuitive, but it’ll lower your chest, which will help you keep some bend in your arms. This will mean you’ll have better control of the front wheel. Adjust the amount you lean forward to suit the steepness of the slope.

U P R I G H T L EG S To stay stable on the bike, you need to keep your weight going through the bottom bracket. For this to happen, you have to keep your legs perpendicular to flat ground. (Picture an imaginary line heading straight up from the BB and try to follow it with your legs.) This can be tough in extremely steep chutes, but the closer you are to this position, the easier riding steep sections will become.

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STEEP CHUTES

STEEP CHUTES “Hang off the back! Hang off the back!” – I often hear this being shouted at riders by their mates as they try to ride steep sections. But hanging off the back of the bike makes chutes dangerous for several reasons. It gives you zero front wheel grip, bucks you forward if you hit a bump and gives you the least amount of stability on the bike. So, what should you do to make sure you get max grip, zero bucking and complete stability?

LESS FRONT BRAKE The front brake is useful, but in situations like this, it can be the devil. Using it in steep sections generally puts you and the bike out of balance, especially when the trail is loose or rutted, so try to use it less. If you’re trying to ride a rut, applying the brake can drag the wheel out of it. Practise modulating your braking so you can use less front brake.

steep skills PUTTING IT TOGETHER

REACTING TO TRAIL FEATURES

Approaching the chute, make sure you have a solid posture on the bike, with elbows bent, weight through your heels, legs straight but supple and hips bent. As you roll into it, keep your legs as they are and allow the bike to pivot forward by bending more at your hips. Modulate your braking so you use less front brake than rear. With all these actions combined, you should have great grip and stability.

You need to be able to squash (allow the bike to come up to you) and pump (push the bike into the terrain) over undulations while riding the chute. Try to keep your legs extended, because this will give you the space to squash and pump when you get to the bumps.

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S P E E D C H EC K Aim to go a shade faster than you would if you were bunnyhopping the same distance. The faster you go, the less you’ll need to pull up.

Try some dummy runs before committing to get a feel for the speed.

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PICK UP As you reach the take-off, lean back and pull up. You’re aiming to keep the bike level as you fly – if you pull up too much you’ll be nose high, while if you don’t pull up enough you’ll be nose heavy, both of which can be tricky to control.

STEP DOWN JUMPS

STEPDOWN JUMPS

A D J U ST WEIGHT Move your body weight back and forth to control the angle of the bike in the air –for best control and shock absorption you want the bike to be level with the landing.

The step-down jump is very similar to jumping off a drop, and jumping into a bombhole. It’s one of the first forms of jumping that you’ll learn after mastering the bunnyhop, and helps you develop the skill to progress to other kinds of jumping.

You’ll find step-downs out and about on most trails – and they’re not big and scary as the name might suggest. Most are small drops, with a bank that follows, making for a nice landing area.

In time, as you hone your skill, you’ll be able to move on to bigger manmade options, which although intimidating, are fundamentally the same thing.

STA B I L I S E If you feel unstable from side to side, pinching the saddle between your knees helps stabilise the bike in the air.

LANDING G E A R D OW N Spot the area you’re going to touch down in, extend your arms and legs to allow for maximum bump absorption, and to minimise impact to the bike.

TO U C H DOWN Use your whole body to absorb the impact, while keeping your eyes focussing ahead on your run out.

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SQUASHING JUMPS

BASIC JUMPING A quick recap on the skills we’ve already learned – it’s all about the approach and take-off.

The key difference between basic jumping and squashing a jump is how much air you get after take-off. With basic jumping you come up high over the jump, whereas with squashing you stay closer to the top of the jump. Watch a 4X or downhill racer hitting a jump at speed, and you’ll see that they stop the bike getting too much air by using their body to absorb the upward motion. This saves time and helps to maintain speed.

The main difference in the two techniques is in the take-off.

On a jump where you want to get air, you compress into the take-off, and stand tall as you come off the lip. To squash a jump and avoid getting too much air, you need to do the opposite.

You need to suck up the energy from the take-off of a jump that forces you in to the air. This will enable you to practise on different shaped jumps and understand what the jump is doing, and avoid being kicked off the ground.

SQUASHING THE JUMP Note the key differences compared to basic jumping – compressing the take-off is the key factor.

COMPRESS As you hit the transition, compress into it, weighting the bike through the handlebars and pedals.

A P P R OAC H Roll into the jump with sufficient speed to jump it. Have your best foot forwards and get out the saddle, ready to act.

COMPRESS As the front wheel comes off the lip, let the bike come towards you until the back end leaves the lip

ABSORB

A P P R OAC H The approach is key to squashing a jump. Make sure you are in position ready for action – so best foot forwards – and note where the take off lip is. Approach at the same speed as you would to jump it normally.

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STA N D TA L L As you hit the transition, stand tall and let the bike start coming towards you –don’t compress into the transition like you would to get air.

As the back end comes off the ground, use the energy from the lip to come up against the bike so you’re standing tall again – this stops the bike coming up and puts you in the right position to push it down towards the lip. Imagine being on a trampoline and absorbing the spring it gives.

SQUASHING JUMPS

NOSE IN It’ll be smoother if you land into the transition, either front wheel slightly ahead or both wheels together. Extend your arms slightly, stay relaxed, and use your whole body to absorb the impact.

STA N D TA L L As the front wheel comes off the lip, lean back and pop upwards to initiate the upwards motion. Use the energy you gained from compressing into the lip to boost you into the air.

LEVEL OUT Once airborne, move your bodyweight back and forth and side to side to fly straight and level. Keep your eyes focussed on the run-out area.

TO U C H D O W N Extend your arms slightly and stay relaxed, using your whole body to absorb the impact. Your exit speed will be almost the same as your approach – you won’t lose speed like you do when popping high.

EXTEND Now that you’re stood up against the bike, you’re in the position to make sure that you can push the bike back to the ground. Extend your arms and legs to push the bike into the landing.

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BLIND JUMPS When you’re riding a jump with a blind take-off, where you can’t see the landing before you’re on the lip, you need to look for it as soon as you can (having made sure to check the jump out on foot first). On the jump pictured here, the landing isn’t actually visible until after you’ve taken off. That means you need to be looking down quite a lot, trying to spot the point where you want to touch down.

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NOSE IN As you start to come down, shift your weight forwards to dip the nose of the bike into the landing.

Keep your eyes focused on the landing until you’re confident of where you’re going.

TO U C H D O W N As you come in to land, bend your legs and arms to soften the impact.

Allow your hips to move down and back – you don’t want to be leaning forward when you’re trying to slow down after landing, or you’ll have no grip or stability. Once your wheels are on the ground, drop your heels, especially if it’s a rough landing.

BLIND JUMPS

PUSH THEN POP On the way up the take-off, push down into the bike to compress the suspension, and bend your arms and legs.

Then, as you hit the lip, extend your arms and legs out straight to get maximum pop and pull your bike from the ground.

S P OT T H E LANDING Once you’ve spotted the landing, allow your eyes to come up and look forward for the exit. Get your body ready for the landing, by flexing your arms and legs slightly, and keeping your hips in a neutral, central position on the bike. You need to be in a good, strong stance.

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BLACK TRAIL SKILLS

POP A P P R OAC H Set your approach speed so you know that when you pop you’ll comfortably clear the gap. As you get close to the lip, lower your body weight, supporting it through your feet, and focus on balance – just like you would if you were going to jump as high as you could.

As you go up the lip, push through your feet and drive your hips up vertically. As the front wheel leaves the lip you still need to apply pressure so you can use the full height of the lip. To do this you need to pull up on the bar to keep the front wheel up.

LEVEL UP Keep your head up and look for the landing. Allow your knees to bend and relax your arms so the bike can come up underneath you and level out. Staying relaxed after you pop will help keep you balanced.

GAPS & DOUBLES Gap jumps and doubles found on black trails and in freeride parks can be daunting, and many riders resort to just using speed to clear them. Though this works sometimes, it’s a pretty dangerous approach and means you always have to ride flat-out to clear jumps. There are effectively three ways to clear a jump – squashing it, jumping off it and popping off it. Which one to use depends on the size of the jump and your speed. Popping is effectively jumping off the very last part of the lip to gain height, and is the method we’d recommend mastering before trying to clear doubles.

Once you know you can pop, you’ll have the confidence and experience to start sending gap jumps.

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GAP JUMPS

LAND Aim to land both wheels at the same time. This may mean you have to push the front end down a little bit. Think about landing on your feet and keeping your hands light.

ABSORB

STAY LOOSE TO STYLE IT

Try to absorb the impact of landing with your legs and aim to return to your neutral position over the bike as quickly as possible.

As you leave the lip, your bike will try to push up underneath you (it’s lighter so it wants to go higher). If you relax and allow it to come up with a little bit of lateral (side to side) guidance, it should look pretty stylish. Yanking the bike up off the lip to add some style will ruin your pop and look pretty awkward. Loosen up!

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SEND BIG JUMPS Even if you’re a frequent flyer, there are a few things to consider when hitting the big stuff. Good technique, a properly set up bike and nerves of steel are all essential if you’re to make it safely to the landing.

F LY I N G H I G H You’ll soon realise if things are going pearshaped. If so, think about bailing and throwing the bike to one side – you don’t want to crash down in a tangled mess. Hopefully things are going well and you can concentrate on spotting your landing. The best thing about big jumps is how much airtime there is. So, once you get comfortable, have some fun and throw some whips!

SCOPE IT OUT Size things up. Don’t even consider going for the jump unless you’re 99 per cent confident you’ll land it. The more jumps you do, the better your gauge of speed will be. Look for cues on how fast to go – a set-up jump before the main jump can really help with this. Watch other people hit it and look at how their bikes and bodies react. Don’t be afraid to ask other riders for advice, and always do a few test run-ins before hitting it for real.

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SEND BIG JUMPS

T H E TA K E O F F Read the take-off – does it look kicky or will you need to pull back off the lip? Once you commit to it and are past the point of no return, resist the urge to panic and stiffen up. Stay relaxed (easier said than done, we know!) and treat it like any other jump. The good thing with big take-offs is that the transitions are longer and generally more predictable.

LANDING This is the easy bit. Straighten the bike out from whatever rad shape you’re throwing and aim for the downslope. Hopefully you’re not coming up short or going long. If you are, then brace yourself for impact. Collect the kudos from your mates and push up for another go.

airtime tips 1.START SMALL

2.BIKE SET UP

3.HEAD GAME

It sounds obvious, but don’t start eyeing up massive senders before getting comfortable on smaller jumps.

If you bite off more than you can chew, it’s likely to result in a big crash that’ll not only potentially injure you but seriously dent your confidence.

Pump up the tyres so they roll faster. Firm up the suspension by adding some air and/or low-speed compression damping (or a couple of turns of preload, on a coil fork/ shock) to help you pump the take-off.

On steep take-offs, slow the rebound down so you don’t get bucked.

The mental aspect of going big has to be nurtured too. Make a point of trying something that scares you a bit on every ride and hit lots of jumps to keep your skills sharp. It’ll all help you feel confident when you turn up at a new spot and are faced with something scary.

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ADVANCED

SKILLS Give your riding a serious boost with these trail tricks and advanced moves

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ADVANCED SKILLS

BUNNY HOPS The bunnyhop – when you get your bike airborne without the aid of a ramp – is the most important and beneficial trick you’ll learn, unlocking plenty of possibilities, especially in street and skate park riding. Once you become confident, you can use it to hop over logs, rocks or small obstacles on the trail, hop up curbs and over things on your cycle to work, and even onto benches, while adding barspins and 180 spins once you get it dialled!

The bunny hop is best learnt in two separate movements, the first being lifting the front wheel without using your cranks to help (like a wheelie) and the second, lifting your back wheel off the ground (this is called a nose manual). Once you combine these two tricks, it’ll create ‘pop’ – the end result being a bunny hop!

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T H R O W YO U R W E I G H T B AC K Get your body weight back towards the rear wheel (bum over the axle) and, at the same time, push both feet down on the pedals and pull on the handlebar – gently to start with and then harder once you get more confident. Cover the rear brake with one finger and if you feel like you’re going to fall off the back, slam the brake on!

LIFT OFF Firstly, you’ll need to learn to lift the front wheel. In a flat car park or skate park or on a flat section of trail, coast along at a fast walking speed. Any slower and you’ll have no momentum to pop, which’ll result in a nose dive. You’re aiming for the front wheel to be about 1ft to 1.5ft off the ground. It’s important to get your wheel this high – any lower and it’ll be hard to generate the pop to get off the ground.

BUNNY HOPS where to apply Now you have it dialled, you can apply this trick to all of your riding. The basic motion always stays the same, you just go faster and hop higher or lower depending on the obstacle, which is something you’ll naturally learn to judge.

This trick is the base for endless lines and possibilities, which can easily take your riding to the next level!

1. UP A WALL/LEDGE

G E T T H E B AC K WHEEL UP Now you can lift the front wheel, it’s time to lift the back wheel. Staying at a fast walking speed, push your weight to the front of the bike, at the same time as pushing your feet back, into the pedals (these will naturally go from horizontal to vertical, so you’ll have something to push against). Doing this will create a pop that’ll lift your back wheel up. It doesn’t matter how high you lift it, as long as it comes off the ground.

Being able to hop up a wall/ledge while riding street can be so handy – it can unlock new lines and possibilities that you wouldn’t have been able to access before. The more lines and features you can hit, the more fun you’ll have!

2. OUT OF A FLAT BANK Before learning to bunnyhop, a flat bank would’ve been an almost useless object, but now you can use the bank to get extra height! Find a cone or similar object, put it at the top of the bank and try to jump over it. The bank and the use of a bunnyhop will give you extra height that you never had before!

3. TO CLEAR A GAP Gapping down a stair set, a curb-to-curb gap or even off a ledge into a grass bank – bunnyhopping enables you to start trying all of these! When doing this kind of stuff, think of the bunnyhop as being like a portable kicker – it means you can get air anytime, anywhere!

PUT IT A L L TO G E T H E R It’s now time to link these two tricks together.

Throw your weight back, push on the cranks and pull on the bar. Once your front wheel is at the correct height, transfer your weight to the middle of the bike while pushing back into the pedals. At the same time, lift the bike – this’ll create your pop and get you off the ground, completing the bunnyhop. As you come in to land, bend your elbows and knees even more to absorb the impact. Then roll away like a champ!

4. TO GAIN EXTRAHEIGHT OUT OF A JUMP You can use the bunnyhop to gain extra height from a lip – as you reach the top of the jump, apply the technique and it’ll send you extra-high compared to normal! Just be wary of your speed, as pulling up means you probably won’t travel as far.

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ADVANCED SKILLS

PUT P O W E R D OW N While extending your arms, push hard on one pedal from the top of the stroke (select a high gear first so you don’t spin out). This crank from 12 to 6 o’clock combined with the explosive extension of your arms will create lift.

COMPRESS FO R K With the saddle at full height, lower your chest by bending your elbows, then quickly push down with your hands to compress the front and lift your chest.

H A N G B AC K

WHEELIE The wheelie is great for balance and control, and translates to other skills like technical climbing and getting up onto ledges. In extreme cases it can also be used to drop off high ledges at very low speeds. Select a high gear so you don’t spin out and you can put a lot of power down with just half a pedal stroke.

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Stay seated and feather the rear brake to avoid looping out.

Pedal harder and lean back more to keep the front wheel up.

WHEELIE MANUAL

H AV I N G TROUBLE If you’re finding the manual hard to master, try sitting on the saddle with both feet on the ground and your front wheel in the air. Rock forwards and backwards, and feel for the balance point. This should give you an idea of how it should feel when you do it for real.

BIKE SET UP It’s crucial to have a sharp rear brake that you can feather with one finger. This will stop you flipping onto your back! Making sure the saddle is down and out of the way will also make the bike easier to control.

MANUAL A manual is the same as a wheelie, just without pedalling. Riding on just the rear wheel, you use transfers of bodyweight and the rear brake to hold the bike perfectly on the balance point.

You can use the manual to link tricks and lines, whether out on the trail, down at the skate park or riding street.

Learning to manual requires some trial and error as you try to find the balance point, but once it clicks you’ll be able to go as far as your speed carries you. Then you can try styling it up, by turning the bar or even taking a hand off if you want to be really cool!

GET IN 1 POSITION Travel at a fast walking speed while standing up on the bike, keeping your weight central and your knees and elbows slightly bent, ready to lift the front wheel. It’s important to keep one finger over the rear brake lever at all times. If at any point you feel the manual is going out of control, slam the rear brake on and this will instantly drop the front wheel back to the ground.

BALANCE 2 FIND POINT Now, you need to lift the front wheel. The height is going to vary depending on your balance point, but it wants to be roughly 1.5ft off the ground. Transfer your weight back, getting your bum over the rear axle, while pushing both feet into the pedals and gently pulling on the bar.

The first few times, just get used to the wheel being off the ground. You can even try pulling it slightly higher than necessary and then slamming the brake on, to get yourself used to reacting when it starts to go wrong.

CONTROL 3 THE MANUAL Next, you need to learn to control the bike. As before, get your bum over the rear axle, with knees bent and arms almost straight.

If the wheel starts dropping, push with your feet and pull with your arms to put yourself into a more upright position. If you find yourself going too far back, feather the rear brake to control the height of the front wheel.

The more you do these movements, the more confidence you’ll have and in-control you’ll feel.

4 ADVANCED SKILLS Once you start to link these movements, you should be covering some distance. If the bike isn’t tracking straight, you’re probably pulling on the bar and pushing on the cranks more on one side than the other. If you’re pulling evenly and the bike is still leaning to one side, use your knees to straighten her up. Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to learn how to turn. Point your head in the direction you wish to go, lean your body into the turn and point your shoulders in that direction too.

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ADVANCED SKILLS

SCANDI FLICK Originating from rally car racing, the Scandi flick is one of those feelgood skills.

It looks awesome, will make your buddies behind you whoop and holler, and can actually help you get round corners too. The idea is to use a rear-end drift or skid to send your bike towards the outside of the turn (the ‘flick’) and to then re-weight the back tyre and push through the apex.

WEIGHT THE FRONT When you start feeling more confident, it really pays to weight the front wheel as you approach the corner. This will make the back end lighter, which will help you to swing it round the turn quickly. Then you need to be ready to reload the rear wheel in the apex to generate speed out of the corner and into the next section of trail.

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BE RELAXED It’s important to stay loose and relaxed so that the bike can move around underneath you. Have faith in your riding skills and don’t fight the bike!

SCANDI FLICK

EYES ON THE PRIZE Always make sure you’re looking up and around the corner. Where your head looks, your shoulders follow, then your hips and the bike. You can see here that the bike and body are going one way but the head is clearly looking the other way, around the corner.

the scandi flick 1 INITIATE THE FLICK As you approach the corner, aim for the inside quite early. Then grab a bit of rear brake and steer up towards the outside of the turn. This will cause the back end of the bike to fall lower than the front.

2 MID TURN From now on don’t brake. The Scandi flick will have slowed you down for the corner and set you up perfectly to carry good speed through it.

3 AIM FOR THE EXIT Look for your exit point, lean in and rail the corner. The faster you go, the easier it’ll be. You can rely on centrifugal force to pull you straight.

4 FEEL GOOD! It feels awesome when you get it right.

People tend to think a Scandi flick is just something that looks good, so they grab a handful of rear brake and do a skid. But it’s a lot more than this, and can be a really helpful skill in the right corner. When you get the hang of it, it should just happen naturally.

5 SECRETS TO SUCCESS Off-camber corners are a good place to practise because they’ll naturally push the back end downhill, aiding the pendulum motion and getting the rear wheel around the turn quickly.

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ADVANCED SKILLS

GET IN GEAR Choose a medium gear – somewhere around fifth on an 11-speed cassette with a 32-tooth chainring. You don’t want a gear that’s too easy because your feet will spin too quickly, while a gear that’s too hard means you won’t have enough power in your pedal strokes.

HOP UP ON TO AN OBSTACLE This is a technique where you use a front wheel tap to get on to an obstacle. Hitting your front wheel into the obstacle is what generates the upward momentum to get the bike on top of it, especially with a fullsusser. This technique involves very precise timing of both the pedal strokes and the front wheel placement to make it work.

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LIFT THE WHEEL As your front wheel lifts off the ground, aim to hit the corner of the obstacle you want to get up with your front tyre. Your good foot should be at the front now.

When you hit the ledge, thrust your hips forward and push your arms forward to lift the back wheel up, and land on top of the obstacle with both wheels.

HOP ON TO AN OBSTACLE

ROLL IN Approach at walking speed with your front foot forward. About 3m away start to pedal, and as your back foot comes around you should then be about 1.5m from the obstacle. When your back foot is at the top of the pedal stroke you want to start putting the power down in order to lift the front wheel.

tips The obstacle needs to be at least 60cm high for this technique to work. Any lower and you’re best off bunnyhopping up it.

Only do this hop-up with a bashguard or chain device on your bike to stop your chain or chainring getting smashed.

Put your seat down to the lowest position to give you the most space to move the bike around.

For the tap, put a little more air in your front tyre so that you’re less likely to pinch flat.

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ADVANCED SKILLS

SWITZERLAND SQUEAKER The squeaker is a trials riding classic – you’ll really impress your mates if you can bust out this trick in the trail centre car park! It’s best to practise the Switzerland squeaker on flat, smooth ground because it’ll make it more consistent and predictable.

tips You’ll probably go over the bars a few times while learning this trick. If you do start to go over the bars you need to stay relaxed, keep hold of the front brake and remember that the foot you’re dragging the tyre with can very easily touch the ground. As you go over the bars, put your free foot down on the ground. Learning how to crash this trick safely will make it a lot easier to learn.

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BALANCE POINT BRAKE LOCK You can do as many scuffs as you want, but once you’re done, lock the front brake and let the back wheel drop, put your foot back on the pedal and ride away like a champ!

All the time you’re going to be around the balance point. As you scuff you’ll almost go forwards past the balance point, but when you lock the brake you’ll find that you drop backwards again.

SWITZERLAND SQUEAKER

STO P P I E STA RT Roll in at somewhere around walking pace with your good foot forward and pull your front brake to go into a stoppie.

F O OT D R AG S Start off small – drag your foot along the tyre for 25-35cm. Once you’ve dragged your foot as far as you want, lock the front brake and lift your foot back towards the fork crown, ready to scuff again.

SW I N G T I M E SCUFF IT Release the brake and scuff the tyre backwards with your foot.

Using a combination of your front brake and foot, your bike will move backwards.

As your back wheel rises, let your front foot drop to the 6 o’ clock position while still on the pedals.

Swing your back foot forwards and put it on the front tyre, as close to the fork crown as possible.

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ADVANCED SKILLS

T W I ST YO U R H I P S Next is the easy bit. When you’re in the air, try to move your hips a little to push the bike in the direction you want to whip it. You can also turn the bar for extra effect – just make sure it’s pointing in the right direction when you land!

T U R N AS YO U TA K E O F F Step two is to turn off the lip of the jump. At first, don’t take this too literally – the ‘turn’ should be little more than a gesture. But it’ll help you to start the whip. This is another little cheat we have for you.

P R E PA R E FO R L A N D I N G As you come in to land, move your hips back in the direction of the landing. Make sure to do this in one fluid action – we don’t want sudden movements, it should all flow. Your bar and front wheel need to be pointing the right way too.

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WHIP IT

WHIP IT! If you’re nailing your jumps, ramp up the style points with a whip…

SMART SMALL The first step is to find the right jump to practise on. You don’t want a huge jump to start with – it’s more important to find one that you’re comfortable jumping, over and over. A slight hip jump is good. It’s a bit of a cheat because it means you don’t need to get the whip back as straight, and that’s the hard bit. Work out which way you’re more comfortable whipping and find a hip that faces in that direction.

ST E P THINGS UP After landing safe and sound, it’s time to work on your next, bigger whip. As you get a feel for the action you’ll find it easy to kick that back end out and land safely.

Then you can go on to bigger jumps, which will allow more airtime, resulting in bigger and bigger whips!

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E P A H S N I GET TO

D E R H S

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hese days we’ve all become more aware of our health and fitness (or lack of it) and are constantly being encouraged to get out and exercise more and watch what we eat. A lot of the advice can seem overwhelming at times or overly regimental. Which, frankly, we think can be a bit boring. So we’re here to tell you the good news – mountain biking is the fun way to help keep yourself in shape.

Yep, it’s not just there for the thrills and spills of the trails, or a great way of getting you to work and back, your mountain bike is keeping you fit while you’re having fun!

As you make your way through this section we strip away the dull routines and tell you the quick wins to help you get a little fitter so you can enjoy your riding even more. So here’s to a summer of great riding and getting in the best shape of your life!

T

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B E AT ST R E S S !

Riding can improve your mood by releasing endorphins that trigger a positive feeling in the body, lower your perception of pain and have a sedative effect. It’s like a legal high!

ST R I P AWAY FAT !

Belly poking through your T-shirt a bit too much? Ditch it! The belly, not the T-shirt… More bike time and watching what you eat (and drink!) will help burn away that unwanted flab.

B O O ST YO U R SEX DRIVE! Now we’re talking! The fitter you are, the better your sex life. Men and women who exercise regularly are said to have increased levels of desire and confidence too.

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LOSE

THAT

BELLY

And many more seemingly impossible health bene its, just from riding your bike – Sounds good to us!

FEEL AND L O O K YO U N G E R !

Regular exercise improves memory, increases energy levels and slows down the gradual loss of co-ordination associated with ageing, so you can put off your doddery old age.

BULLET PROOF YO U R B O DY! Riding regularly can help protect your body from certain cancers, heart disease and strokes, and lowers your blood pressure.

Loving bei being ing out on the bike this summer but still not quite happy wi with ith your overall shape and fitness? Well, never fear b because we’re going to show you how to get rid of those tho flabby, out of shape, older spec parts you’ve been cursing during every ride and welcome in your 100 per cent guaranteed* sleeker, fitter, more attractive self.

Fitness magazines are full of bold claims of how to get a new and improved you, so we’ve taken their lead to show you why mountain biking is the perfect way to help you get into shape without really thinking about it.

Sounds good, huh? Yep, while everyone else is slaving away indoors, doing monotonous gym workouts and trying to dodge punishing circuits with a personal trainer, we’ll show you why you should simply bugger off into the woods and have shedloads more FUN on your bike!

Loads of amazing health benefits are available to you, just from riding your bike, and if you step things up a little bit more over the coming months, you’ll soon be in the best shape of your life and leading the pack, rather than bringing up the rear!

*Not actually guaranteed.

forget monotonous gym workouts or punishing circuit training, we’ll show you why you should simply bugger off into the woods and have shedloads more fun on your bike!

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GET BIKE FIT Here’s a range of easy ways to get yourself in better shape – both on and off your bike

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QUICK

MAKE GAINS OFF THE BIKE! The fastest and most effective way to get bike fit is to ride as hard as possible as often as possible, with recovery periods in between. But you can’t always do that, so here’s a selection of bike-free exercises that can shortcut and complement strength and fitness gains.

PRESS UP

S I D E B R I D G E W I T H L EG R A I S E

If you struggle on rough ground or long descents, it could be due to a weak upper body. With your hands just outside shoulder width, keep your body straight and extend your arms, pivoting from your toes. Lower yourself back down until your upper arms are parallel with the floor.

Want a torso and glutes of steel? This is the one for you! Start by supporting yourself on your elbow and foot, straight and strong from head to heel. Then draw in a deep breath, fill your belly and, as you exhale, lift your top leg as high as you can.

S Q UAT

BUNNYHOP

O N E L E G S Q UAT

With feet just over shoulder width apart and chest upright, ease your hips down as if sitting on a chair until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Push back up slowly.

Stand in a jump position, engage your core, sink to a quarter-squat, then push up through the balls of your feet with max force. Absorb and control the landing.

Stand on one leg with the other leg slightly in front and off the floor. Keep your chest upright and core engaged, and bend the supporting leg, keeping the other straight.

PLANK

‘V’ SIT UP

CRUNCH

With your feet as close together as possible, and only your toes and forearms in contact with the floor, hold the rest of your body off the ground, in a straight line.

Lie flat, with both of your hands above your head. Sit up and raise one leg straight up so that you touch your ankle with both hands. Repeat with the other leg.

Raise your feet, with hips and knees at 90 degrees. With fingers on head, chin tucked in and legs still, engage your core muscles to bring your elbows to your knees.

CLOSE ARM PRESS UP

DIP

LU N G E

Put your hands under the centre of your chest. Keep your body straight and extend your arms, pivoting from your toes. Lower yourself back down until your chest touches your hands.

Put your hands on a step or a low table, with your fingers facing forwards. Bend at the elbows, lowering your body, back straight and chest upright. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and then return.

Standing tall, with your shoulders back and core engaged, step forward and lower your body, under control, until both knees are flexed to 90 degrees, then return to the start position. Repeat on the other leg.

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BEAT

THE

Keeping that beer gut at bay doesn’t actually have to be hard work

BULGE

When it comes to full-body workouts and burning calories, most fitness fanatics will head for the rowing machine or, if they’re really serious, mention the phrase ‘cross fit’ – the sport of doing fitness. But we’re not really into that here. The good news is that you’ve already made the right choice of kit with your trusty mountain bike.

Let’s not forget you’re in possession of a self-powered tool that’s capable of strengthening muscles, shedding fat, improving balance, crushing calories and, most importantly, creating clown-sized grins in the process!

Your mountain bike has more programmes and fitness profiles than any memory card could ever store, and you have the added bonus that you can use it pretty much anywhere you choose.

There are plenty of studies out there that prove certain intensities and durations of training are the most effective at burning fat. Most of them will tell you that both interval training – periods of high-intensity exercise followed by rest – and long, steady distance work are the keys to success. The beauty of mountain biking is that it combines both of these elements without you having to really think about it. So all you really have to concentrate on is having maximum fun!

Undulating or steep terrain makes your heart rev quicker than a two-stroke engine, and the great outdoors allows your mind to wander from the onset of “please stop now” pain in your thighs when going the distance.

If you want to burn some serious fat, then try to get out at least three times a week, for one to two hours at a time. If you get creative with your route choice and mix things up a bit, you’re more likely to stay motivated for longer.

you’re in possession of a self-powered tool capable of strengthening muscles, shedding fat, improving your balance and, most importantly, creating clown-sized grins in the process!

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3,500 That’s how many calories there are in a pound of fat, which would take roughly six hours of continuous riding to burn. That isn’t a long time, if you break it down into a couple of shorter rides per week plus a daily commute

60% EFFORT Rather than just going for all-out effort, more bene its can be seen from riding at a relatively low intensity (about 60 per cent of your maximum heart rate) but adding short, high-intensity bursts or intervals

GOLDEN RULE

When trying to lose fat, it’s always important to remember the energy balance. To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than you burn, so don’t use your ride as an excuse to pig out afterwards!

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RIDE MORE! Getting out on your bike, even for a quick blast at lunch, is a great way of getting away from the stresses of modern life. If ever you need an excuse to ride more, this is it!

N E W G OA L S Try to constantly set yourself new personal challenges to overcome when heading out on rides. They’ll also help you to build confidence on your bike, and in everyday life.

Overcoming personal challenges in mountain biking – like doing that drop you’ve been avoiding – will build your confidence, which is transferable to other areas of life and work 118 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

BOOST

YOUR BRAIN,

ELIMINATE

STRESS Head for the hhills to escape the deman demands of everyday life

CHILL OUT The chemicals produced by your body in response to exercise can help you relax and sleep better and also promote a general sense of wellbeing.

We ttend to think about mountain biking as mainly a physical pursuit. You work your body hard to get up, down or around your favourite route. But riding bikes truly is a trump card when it comes to the mental benefits.

When you head out on your bike you’re producing feelgood endorphins and adrenaline by the bucketload, which help trigger a positive response in the body. More than that though, mountain biking offers an excuse to escape the stresses of modern life and really lose yourself in something different, stimulating and totally absorbing. Your ever-growing to-do list and the rest of the world are placed firmly at the back of your mind while you focus on tearing down descents and finding flow riding through technical sections.

Taking to the trail also offers great opportunities to push your personal boundaries, express yourself and explore. Overcoming personal challenges in mountain biking – like cornering more smoothly or doing that drop you’ve been avoiding – will build your confidence, which is transferable to other areas of life and work.

Endless possibilities of places to ride and ways of riding trails mean that you’ll never get bored – if you don’t want to. Night riding, for instance, might sound like more of an ordeal than something you’d do for fun, but the buzz and after-effects are addictive. Wrap up warm and hit the hills with your mates for a couple of laps and you’ll soon understand why.

So no more excuses. If you’ve got a bike, then get out there and ride! There’s much to gain, and there’s not a lot to lose – apart from possibly some flab!

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STAY MOTIVATED Change your ride habits to have more fun and get itter

0 1 B O O ST YO U R R I D E L E N GT H S We all have a favourite loop and it’s easy to stick to that route every time you head out for a regular midweek ride, doing it on repeat. Although, in the first place, that’s a great thing to be doing, you’re missing out on something called volume progression – basically, increasing the duration of your ride from, say, 60 minutes to 90 minutes, to cause an increase in workload that stimulates physical developments.

So think about how you can extend your favourite loop slightly. Progressively adding a mile or so, or incorporating tougher climbs, will give you big improvements in all the right departments.

effort. This increases the metabolic demand of the ride and is a great way to build up your fitness.

who’s got the skills. It genuinely builds fitness and motivation – plus it’s damn good fun.

03 THE DREADED ‘ S ’ WO R D

0 5 N AST Y HILLS

Strava. There, we’ve said it. Many of us use the app – we love it, hate it, have been fascinated by it and spent many afternoons on our bikes, riding as hard as we could, to try and take all the local KOMs. If you pick and choose your times to use it, and forget about the fact that you’re 135th on a stage you didn’t realise you were even riding, then Strava can be a good tool to motivate you to push up that climb, even as your thighs are screaming.

02 CHALLENGE YO U R S E L F

0 4 G E T YO U R R AC E H E A D O N

Take a leaf out of the Athertons’ book. They have stretches of road and trails that Rachel, Gee and Dan have set benchmark times on, so they know how long it should take them to ride.

The challenge they set themselves is to go as hard as they can, each time they ride those sections, to try and beat their times. On your regular loop, set at least one segment where you have to step up your

If you regularly head out with a group of riders, or even just a couple of mates, try including some mini races within your trails, like you did when you were a kid. Last one to the finish buys the low calorie beers – not too many though, you’re supposed to be getting in shape! A mix of short, sharp sprints, longer drags and technical sections will show who’s the powerhouse, who’s the whippet and

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It might sound like we’re trying to make your life miserable here, but seriously, we’re not!

Deliberately put the hardest climbs you can into a ride and make them a regular challenge.

Preferably hit them as hard as possible, and allow yourself recovery time when you’ve conquered the hill. Just think how good you’ll feel at the top! You’ll also notice how they become easier over time, as both your fitness and climbing technique improve.

06 TWO BIRDS, O N E STO N E Riding to work is one of the best ways to get in some serious bike time, without even thinking about it. We know a 40-year-old triathlete who’s in amazing shape.

He bases the vast majority of his training around his commute to work, which is eight miles in each direction.

That shows it’s possible to get into good shape even with a busy life. You could try riding to work once a week, riding into work and taking the train home, or driving halfway

and riding the rest – whatever works for you!

07 TYRE CHANGES If you regularly ride to work, especially if the route is mostly on tarmac roads or cycle paths, is your bike set up as well as it could be? Think about the basics – saddle height, suspension lockout, tyre pressures and even the rubber itself. A pair of slicks can turn a chore of a hill into a breeze – or if you’re going after the burn, try using underinflated knobbly tyres.

These are only for masochists who want some extra resistance training, though!

08 HUNTING R OA D I E S Not to be rude to our shaven-legged comrades, but try using them as a benchmark. If you normally ride steadily during your commute, up the intensity for parts of the ride. If you see a road cyclist up ahead, can you catch them? We know a guy who used to ride a BMX into Birmingham and try to sprint past anyone he saw – he said the look on their faces was worth it! And his sprint and anaerobic power increased markedly in just a few weeks.

Don’t avoid tough climbs – they can provide a big training boost

MIND OVER MATTER Keys to a positive mental attitude S E T YO U R S I G H TS Think of an event you wish to do, a route you want to ride or a trail you’d like to conquer, then set some goals and make a plan to get you there.

Goals can be as big or as little as you like and achieving them will do wonders for your self-esteem and confidence, both on and off the bike.

OV E R C O M E A CHALLENGE We all take that ‘chicken run’ every now and again or look at an obstacle and admit defeat without even attempting it. Next time, approach it differently. Try breaking the obstacle down into manageable sections.

Then go away and practise each part on a smaller scale so that you’re ready to nail it next time.

L E AV E YO U R C O M F O RT ZO N E Push yourself – it’s good for the soul and it’s fun! Get out there and join a group ride or find a couple of buddies who’ll push you along. You’ll soon forget how hard that climb was or how far you were behind your mate, and you’ll be setting your sights on a fresh challenge.

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 121

122 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

GET FIT

FAST Up your itness by 10% in just eight weeks, on the trail and at home The main reason we ride is for fun, and if you’re fitter you can ride harder and further, and have even more fun! This eight-week training programme for trail/enduro riders will improve your fitness by 10 per cent. It’s based on three rides per week plus one or two home workout sessions that don’t even require any equipment.

The programme’s set so that you do the bulk of your training at the weekend, but if you have more time during the week, ride then – just don’t do the harder sessions back to back. You can ride for longer if you want, especially on the endurance rides, but don’t duplicate your hard sessions, as you’ll need sufficient recovery time, and don’t worry if you have to miss the odd session.

It’s a good idea to record your training so that you can measure your progress – try online tools like Strava or Training Peaks.

ZONE

PERCEIVED EXERTION ON A 10-POINT SCALE

HEART RATE % OF MAX

Zone 1

1 Very light 2 Fairly light

Zone 2

3 Moderate 4 Somewhat hard

Zone 3

5 Hard 6

TRAINING INTENSITY Throughout this training programme you’ll be working at different intensities, each of which can be measured using your heart rate (HR) or perceived exertion level. Work out your heart-rate zones as a percentage of your maximum heart rate – 220 minus your age gives a rough max HR.

FEELING

TYPE

55%

Very light, can breathe easily, little muscular exertion

Warm up

65%

Noticeable increase in breathing rate but still able to hold a conversation

Recovery

75%

Breathing hard, uncomfortable feeling but sentences possible

Aerobic

Zone 4

7 Very hard 8

85%

Deep, forceful breathing and don’t want to talk

Anaerobic

Zone 5

9 10 Very, very hard

95-100%

Breathing extremely hard and can’t even talk

Maximum

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 123

the basics

Your sessions

Before you start, learn how to get the best out of every session

Endurance 01 ride

WA R M U P Decrease the risk of injury and maximise your training benefits.

Off-bike warm up Do each exercise for 30 secs, then repeat the list.

1. Head twists: slowly, from side to side.

2. Arm circles: full circles, forwards and back.

3. Jogging on the spot: keep your knees up.

4. Squats: wide stance, go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

5. Lunges: big step forward, go down keeping your chest up and return.

On-bike warm-up 1. Ride for 5mins at a low intensity.

2. Over 20secs, build pace from 50% to 80%.

Repeat three times with 20secs of recovery.

3. Over 20secs, build pace from 60% to 90%.

Repeat 3 times, hitting

100% on last rep. Have 20secs of recovery.

4. Ride until you feel ready to do your session.

C O O L D OW N At least 5mins of lowintensity exercise, either on the bike or jogging.

R EC OV E RY If you’re training hard, quality rest is just as important as training.

Hydrate. You’ll be losing fluids while exercising, so replace the loss during and after.

Eat well within one hour of exercising – good-quality wholefoods, rather than fatty, highsugar, processed fare.

Stretch after cooling down, to maintain flexibility. Hold your stretches for 20-30secs.

As well as rest, lowintensity activities such as walking are also good for effective recovery.

the Exercises U P P E R B O DY Press-ups Start with chest on floor, feet together and hands just outside shoulder width. Extend arms until straight, keeping your body in a straight line.

Lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the floor, then extend back up. If you struggle, pivot from your knees instead of toes.

front. Bend elbows and lower bum towards the floor with a straight back.

Extend your arms to complete one rep.

Walk-out press-ups Stand with arms by your side. Crouch down and put your hands on the floor in front of your toes.

Walk out to a press-up position, keeping your feet in the same position.

Do a press-up and walk back in, then stand up.

Tricep dips Put your hands on the edge of a bench with fingers facing forwards and legs extended in

124 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

What?

A long ride at low intensity to improve your aerobic capacity, recovery and ability to burn fat.

Sample session On-bike warm-up 3 x 5min intervals in Zone 3 with 5mins in Zone 2 recovery between each interval Rest of ride in Zone 2 Cool down

03

HighHow? intensity Keep your cranks interval training spinning at around 90 revolutions per What? minute. Try not to stop Shorter periods of and keep a consistent effort and recovery at pace and level of effort. a higher intensity that require your maximum Sample session level of physical and Ride in Zone 2 for mental effort.

1hr 30mins.

How? Aerobic You’ll be working at intervals maximum effort for What? very short periods.

Periods of effort Therefore, you should and recovery that ride non-technical up the intensity terrain so that you can of your training. concentrate on effort.

02

How? Keep your heart rate up during the intervals.

Make sure the terrain you choose enables you to do this – create a mini lap that includes some technical skills.

hands together under your chest. Extend your arms until straight, keeping your body in a line. Lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the floor, then extend back up.

Sample session On-bike warm-up 4mins of 10secs hard (Zone 5)/ 50secs easy 4mins of 20secs hard/40secs easy 4mins of 30secs

degrees and fingers to temples. Curl your torso up and twist so opposite elbow touches your knee.

Repeat on other side.

Hill 04 repetitions What?

To improve your on-bike strength and muscular endurance.

How? Like normal intervals, with effort on the way up and recovery on the way down. Do every hill climb seated at 60 revs per min.

Estimate 30secs on the hill and mark it point-to-point so you ride the same distance for every repetition.

Sample session On-bike warm-up 6 x 30secs hill climbs at Zone 4 with ride down 20secs of recovery Rest of ride in Zone 2 Cool down

Condition 05sessions What?

Short, intense and fast

feet flat on floor. With arms by your side, raise hips until your body is in a straight line with your thighs. Hold for 1sec, then lower back slowly.

Dorsal raises

Sit-ups

Lie face down, fingers on temples. Slowly lift your chest, keeping your feet on the floor, then lower yourself down slowly.

Lie on your back with feet on floor, knees at 90 degrees and fingers to temples. Curl up using your abs until your elbows meet your knees.

Lower yourself down until your upper back touches the floor.

Lie face down, resting on forearms and toes to hold your body off the floor, keeping it in a straight line. If you’re struggling, do the same but from your knees.

CORE

hard/30secs easy Rest of ride in Zone 2 Cool down

Planks

Close-hand press-ups

Twist-sits

Hip raises

Start with your chest on floor, feet together and

Lie on your back with feet on floor, knees at 90

Lie on your back with knees at 90 degrees and

LEGS Bunnyhops Stand side-on to a 30cm-high obstacle.

With feet close together, squat down, jump over it and straighten up again.

Lunges Take a big step forward and sink down, with chest upright, until rear knee is 6cm off the floor.

Then stand up, pushing off with front foot and keeping rear one stationary. Change legs.

WEEK 1 - INTRO bodyweight sessions to up your muscular endurance and ability to ride hard.

See The Exercises below.

DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 1 & TEST SESSION ACTIVITY Conditioning Test

How? Ensure you understand the format of each session and record your time for every one. If you’re tiring, regress the exercise rather than stop – for example, just do half press-ups.

Sample session Off-bike warm-up 15 reps each exercise with as little rest as possible – repeat 6 times Cool down and stretch 1 x press-ups, 2 x squats, 3 x lunges, 4 x tricep dips and 5 x sit-ups

06

DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

How? Repeat any of the sessions and compare your recorded times.

WED

HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING 1 ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 30mins ZONES Minimum 2, average 3, maximum 5

THU

REST

FRI

REST

SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 1 & TIME TRIAL 1 ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 1hr

Lunge jumps Start in the lunge position with your chest upright.

Jump up and land in the same position but with your legs the opposite way around.

ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

Squats Stand with feet over shoulder width apart, fingers on temples and elbows out. Bend knees and push hips back, keeping back straight and chest facing forwards.

Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then return to the standing position.

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP Also do as many press-ups as you can in 1min and record your score.

DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 2 ACTIVITY Conditioning

SESSION Complete 15 reps of each with as little rest as possible. Do list x 6 and record your time.

1. Press-ups 2. Squats 3. Sit-ups 4. Lunges

DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

COOL DOWN

Test sessions

What?

To monitor your progress and give you a goal – eg press-ups measure your muscular endurance, while time trials assess improvement on the bike.

SESSION PLAN

WEEK 2 - MEDIUM

ON-BIKE WARM UP

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

WED

ACTIVITY Cycling

Complete the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

SESSION Do 6 x 30sec hill climbs at Z4 intensity with a ride down + 20sec recovery. Do all hill climbs seated, aiming for 60 revolutions per minute. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

COOL DOWN

COOL DOWN

SESSION 4mins of 10secs hard/50secs easy 4mins of 20secs hard/40secs easy 4mins of 30secs hard/30secs easy

DURATION 30mins ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

THU

SESSION Measure 2 miles point-to-point, slightly uphill or on a drag. Ride for 10mins then complete 2 x 5min Aerobic Intervals in Zone 3 with 5min Zone 2 recovery periods between each.

Complete the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

Make sure to record your results.

ACTIVITY Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

CONDITION SESSION 3 ACTIVITY Conditioning

ON-BIKE WARM UP

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ZONES Min 2, av 2, max 3

DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do 20secs of exercise 1 then have 40secs recovery.

Then do the same for each. Repeat list x 2.

1. Press-ups 2. Lunges 3. Sit-ups 4. Squats 5. Planks COOL DOWN

FRI

REST

SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 2 ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 1hr

SUN

ON-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do 3 x 6min intervals at Zone 3, with 4mins of Zone 2 recovery between. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 3

COOL DOWN

ENDURANCE RIDE 2

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ACTIVITY Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

COOL DOWN

Squat jumps As squats, but jump as high as you can from the thighs-parallel position.

SESSION Do 10 reps of each exercise, immediately followed by 9 of each, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

When you hit 1, work your way back up to 10. Do it as fast as you can, resting as much as you need to.

1. Press-ups 2. Sit-ups 3. Squats

HILL REPETITIONS 1

ENDURANCE RIDE 1

DURATION 1hr 30mins

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP

COOL DOWN

COOL DOWN SUN

SESSION PLAN

DURATION 2hrs ZONES Min 2, av 2, max 3

COOL DOWN

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 125

WEEK 3 - HARD DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 4 ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

SESSION PLAN

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP

WEEK 4 - EASY DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 6 & TEST SESSION

SESSION Complete the list as many times as you can in 8mins.

1. Press-ups x 10 2. Twist-sits x 10 3. Squats x 10 4. Lunges x 10 5. Sit-ups x 10 After, do 3 x 30secs of Planks with 30secs’ rest after each.

ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

SESSION PLAN

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP

WEEK 5 - MEDIUM DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 7

SESSION Do as many pressups as you can in 1min and record your score. Then do 15 reps of each exercise with as little rest as possible. Do the list x 6 and note your time.

1. Press-ups 2. Squats 3. Sit-ups 4. Lunges

ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

COOL DOWN COOL DOWN WED

HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING 2 ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 40mins ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

ON-BIKE WARM-UP WED

HILL REPETITIONS 2

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ACTIVITY Cycling

SESSION Do 6 x 40sec hill climbs at Z4 intensity with a ride down + 20sec recovery. Do the last 2 at max pace.

Alternate between standing and seated, aiming for 60 revs per min. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

CONDITION SESSION 5 ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

DURATION 40mins ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

REST

SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 3

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP

THU

REST

SESSION Do 20secs of 1 with 40secs’ recovery, then go down the list.

Repeat list x 3.

1. Press-ups 2. Lunges 3. Sit-ups 4. Squats 5. Planks

FRI

REST

SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 4 & TIME TRIAL 2 ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 1hr

SPORT Cycling DURATION 1hr 30mins ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 4

ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5 ON-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do 3 x 6min at Zone 3 for 3mins, then Zone 4 for 3mins, with 4mins of Zone 2 recovery between each. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

COOL DOWN

SUN

ENDURANCE RIDE 3

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ACTIVITY Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

DURATION 2hrs 30mins ZONES: Min 2, av 2, max 3

126 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

COOL DOWN

WED

DURATION 45mins ZONES Min 2, av 4, max 5

SESSION Do 10 reps of each exercise, immediately followed by 9 of each, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

When you hit 1, work your way back up to 10. Do it as fast as you can, resting as much as you need to.

Record your time and compare to session in Week 1.

1. Press-ups 2. Sit-ups 3. Squats

THU

SESSION Do the same time trial as in Week 1.

Ride for 10mins then complete 2 x 7min intervals at Zone 3, with 3min Zone 2 recovery between each interval.

Complete the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

Make sure to record your results.

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

SPORT Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

Make sure to record your results.

ZONES Min 2, av 2, max 3

CONDITION SESSION 8

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ENDURANCE RIDE 4

DURATION 1hr 30mins

ON-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do this list 2 times: 15secs hard/15secs easy; 30secs hard/ 30secs easy; 45secs hard/45secs easy; 1min hard/ 1min easy.

Complete the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

COOL DOWN

ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

COOL DOWN

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP Do 30secs of 1 with 30secs’ recovery, then go down the list.

Repeat list x 3.

1. Press-ups 2. Lunges 3. Sit-ups 4. Squats 5. Planks COOL DOWN

FRI

REST

SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 5

COOL DOWN SUN

HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING 3 ACTIVITY Cycling

COOL DOWN

COOL DOWN FRI

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP

COOL DOWN

SESSION Work down and then back up the list.

10secs hard/50 recovery; 20secs hard /40 rec; 30secs hard/30 rec; 40secs hard/20 rec; 50secs hard/10 rec; 60secs hard/60 rec.

Complete the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

COOL DOWN

THU

SESSION PLAN

SPORT Cycling DURATION 1hr

SUN

ON-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do 3 x 6mins at Zone 4, with 4mins of Zone 2 recovery between each. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 4

COOL DOWN

ENDURANCE RIDE 5

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

SPORT Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

DURATION 2hrs ZONES Min 2, av 2, max 3

COOL DOWN

WEEK 6 - HARD DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 9 ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

SESSION PLAN

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP

WEEK 7 - V. HARD DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 11

SESSION Complete the list as many times as you can in 8mins.

1. Press-ups x 10 2. Twist-sits x 10 3. Squats x 10 4. Lunges x 10 5. Sit-ups x 10 After, do 3 x 30secs of Planks with 30secs’ rest after each.

Record your results.

ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

SESSION PLAN

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP

WEEK 8 - EASY DAY

DAILY PLAN

MON

REST

TUE

CONDITION SESSION 13 & TEST SESSION

SESSION Perform 30secs of 1, then have 30secs’ recovery. Do this for 2 more sets on each exercise so you’re doing 3 sets before moving on to the next one. Repeat list x 3.

1. Hip raises 2. Lunges 3. Twist-sits 4. Squat jumps 5. Planks

ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

COOL DOWN

SESSION PLAN

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do as many pressups as you can in 1min and record your score. Then do 15 reps of each exercise with as little rest as possible. Do the list x 6 and note your time.

Afterwards, compare to your Week 1 score 1. Press-ups 2. Squats 3. Sit-ups 4. Lunges

COOL DOWN WED

HILL REPETITIONS 3

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

COOL DOWN WED

ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 1hr ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

SESSION Do 6 x 40sec hill climbs at Zone 4 with a ride down + 20sec recovery. Do the last 2 at max pace. Alt between standing and seated, aiming for 60 revs per min.

Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING 4 ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 45mins ZONES Min 2, av 4, max 5

ON-BIKE WARM-UP WED SESSION Do this list 2 times: 5mins of 10secs hard/20secs easy; 5mins Zone 2; 5mins of 30secs hard/ 30secs easy.

Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

HILL REPETITIONS 4

ON-BIKE WARM UP

ACTIVITY Cycling

SESSION Do 3 x 30sec hill climbs at Zone 4 with a ride down + 20sec recovery. Do the last 2 at max pace. Alt between standing and seated, aiming for 60 revs per min.

Then repeat as 4 x 1min hill climbs. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

DURATION 45mins ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

COOL DOWN COOL DOWN THU THU

CONDITION SESSION 10 ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do 30secs of 1 with 30secs’ recovery, then go down the list.

Repeat list x 3.

1. Press-ups 2. Lunges 3. Sit-ups 4. Squats 5. Planks

CONDITION SESSION 12 ACTIVITY Conditioning DURATION 30mins ZONES N/A

OFF-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do 30secs of 1 with 20secs’ recovery, then go down the list.

Repeat list x 3.

1. Press-ups 2. Lunges 3. Sit-ups 4. Squats 5. Planks

COOL DOWN THU

REST

FRI

REST

SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 8 & TIME TRIAL 3

COOL DOWN

ACTIVITY Cycling

COOL DOWN FRI SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 6 ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 1hr 30mins

SUN

FRI

REST

SAT

AEROBIC INTERVALS 7

REST ON-BIKE WARM-UP SESSION Do 5 x 6mins at Zone 4, with 4mins of Zone 2 recovery between each. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 4

COOL DOWN

ENDURANCE RIDE 6

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ACTIVITY Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

Record the distance you’ve covered.

DURATION 2hrs 30mins ZONES Min 2, av 2, max 3

COOL DOWN

ACTIVITY Cycling DURATION 1hr 30mins ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 4

SUN

SESSION Do 5 x 6mins at Zone 3, with 4mins of Zone 2 recovery between each. Do the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

COOL DOWN SUN

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

SPORT Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

Record the distance you’ve covered.

ZONES Min 2, av 2, max 3

ZONES Min 2, av 3, max 5

SESSION Do the same time trial course as in Weeks 1 & 4. Ride for 10mins then complete 2 x 7min intervals at Zone 4, with 3min Zone 2 recovery between each interval.

Complete the rest of the ride in Zone 2.

ENDURANCE RIDE 8

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ACTIVITY Cycling

SESSION Ride for the allocated time with an average intensity of Zone 2.

Record the distance you’ve covered.

COOL DOWN

ENDURANCE RIDE 7

DURATION 3hrs

DURATION 1hr

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

ON-BIKE WARM-UP

DURATION 1hr 30mins ZONES Min 2, av 2, max 3

COOL DOWN

COOL DOWN

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 127

YOU ARE

The right food and drink will give you more power and stamina on the trail

WHAT YOU THE FOOD GROUPS

EAT

What do they do and which do I need?

Mackerel contains vitamin D, protein, some B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids

As well as carbs, sweet potatoes provide dietary fibre, vitamin A and vitamin C

Walnuts are an excellent source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 essential fatty acids

CA R B O H Y D R AT E S

FATS

P R OT E I N S

The body’s main fuel source for moderate to hard efforts, they’re often given a bad rap by fad diet ‘experts’ but it’s only processed, sugary carbohydrates that spike blood sugar.

The likes of wholemeal pasta and rice will fuel you well for a long day of riding.

Cutting back on processed foods that are high in saturated fats is a simple way of losing body flab. But don’t cut out all fat – it’s our most energy-dense form of fuel and is vital for prolonged exercise.

The unsaturated fats found in nuts, olive oil and fish are very beneficial. As a rule, if the fat is liquid at room temperature it’s an unsaturated vegetable fat. If it’s solid, it’s from an animal and is saturated.

About 15-20 per cent of your daily food intake should be lean protein. Eat 20-30g after exercise because it helps to speed up recovery and promote muscle repair and growth. If you eat meat, make sure it isn’t processed, salted or pre-packaged.

A 20g dose per meal is ideal for someone who’s exercising.

Why do you need it?

Carbohydrates are stored in the form of glycogen in the muscles and liver. You need an adequate supply for exercise and to replenish your muscles afterwards. Insulin released as a product of processing carbohydrates helps prevent muscle breakdown after a hard ride and replenishes glycogen.

Get it here On ride Jam sandwich, banana, flapjack, jelly beans After ride White rice, white pasta, potato, cornflakes At meal time Sweet potato, wholewheat pasta, peas, broccoli

128 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

Why do you need it?

Fats are part of a balanced diet and a source of essential fatty acids such as omega-3 – they’re ‘essential’ because the body can’t make them itself. They help the body absorb vitamins A, D and E, which are fat-soluble, meaning that they can only be absorbed with their help.

Get it here On ride Generally, this isn’t advisable After ride Nuts, cheese, avocado At meal time Salmon, tuna and trout, eggs, olive oil, flax seed oil, mussels

Why do you need it?

Proteins are needed to build tissues, cell membranes and muscle cells. Without them, the body would literally waste away.

They also provide a source of energy, as an alternative to carbohydrates, during exercise and are the primary fuel for cells of the immune system.

Get it here On ride Peanut butter sandwich, beef jerky, skimmed milk latte, oat flapjack After ride Recovery shake, milk, scrambled eggs, baked beans At meal time Turkey, mackerel, haddock, salmon, tofu, tempeh, quinoa

ENERGY GELS, DRINKS AND BARS What do they do and which do I need?

GELS

D R I N KS

BARS

Energy gels are essentially a concentrated form of sugars. They provide you with a dense hit of energy, which is generally simple to digest and absorb. They don’t take up a lot of room to carry so you can take quite a few with you on your rides.

They’re not cheap or good for for teeth, so generally, you should only use them during fast, hard rides or races, where the quick hit of energy they provide can really help your performance and prevent fatigue.

If you look on the back of the gel and find the ingredients list, you should be looking for a combination of sugars. You want to have either maltodextrin or glucose with some fructose, which will maximise absorption of the gel.

Energy drinks contain water and simple carbohydrates, which you need for fuel during exercise. They often also have electrolytes, which help the body retain the fluid that you’re taking in.

Drink during rides to delay fatigue and stave off dehydration. Look to drink 500-750ml per hour, depending on how strenuous the ride and the temperature.

You want a mix of sugars and glucose or maltodextrin with fructose in a 2:1 ratio is ideal. Not only will this maximise carbohydrate absorption, it also maximises fluid absorption. Choose a brand that contains 6-8g of sugar per 100ml of fluid. You can make your own energy drink by watering down fruit juice and adding a small pinch of table salt.

These are a bit like a cereal bar or flapjack, but they tend to contain fewer complex sugars so that they can be easily absorbed and digested. They provide a concentrated hit of energy, but with a bit more substance than a gel. Eat them to boost your energy levels during long rides, when you want something that more resembles a food than a sweet.

They’re useful at snack breaks, when you actually have the time to chew and digest them properly.

As with gels and energy drinks, you should look for bars containing a combination of simple sugars. You can easily make your own by using a good flapjack or granola bar recipe.

Advantages: Provide a concentrated hit of energy.

Easy asy to fitt in you your pack pac on o a long o g ride. de

Advantages: Advantages: Not only provides energy but also hydrates your body.

Can satisfy hunger on long rides.

Provide ov a tasty variety of ways in which whi ic to take energy on board.

Disadvantages: They are pricey, can be quite sweet and sickly, and sometimes cause upset stomachs.

Disadvantages:

Disadvantages: Di isad

To take on board enough energy, you need to drink a large volume.

Ener absorption can be slow, Energy depending on the make-up of the bar. depe

WHAT ABOUT PLAIN OLD WATER? The best way to stay hydrated Water is critical for our bodies, especially so during exercise. Don’t add sugary powders to it unless you’re very clear as to why you’re doing it. If you’re exercising for less than two hours and don’t work out daily, then water is perfectly fine on its own. The hotter the weather or the more you sweat, the more water is needed. A 500ml bottle per hour is a good basic minimum to take in. If you’re craving a sugary snack or fizzy drink in town, reach for the sparkling water – an old trick, but it works and will keep you from the sweets aisle!

MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS 129

RECIPES FOR RIDERS

Want to eat the right things but don’t want to be slaving for hours in a hot kitchen?

Try these bike-friendly recipes

SUPER BURGERS

P O M EG R A N AT E SORBET

G R E E K F E TA CHEESE WRAP

B E R RY P OW E R S H A K E

Why it’s good for you

Why it’s good for you:

Why it’s good for you:

Why it’s good for you:

• High in muscle-fuelling protein • Good source of iron • Full of zinc to help ight fatigue • Slow-release carbs for energy

• Packed with lurg- ighting antioxidants • Rich in polyphenols, which help to reduce fatigue • Plenty of potassium to help you refuel quicker

• Energy-boosting slow-release carbs • Rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants • Includes plenty of protein to fuel your muscles

• Contains a good mix of starch and fruit sugars, and is great for glycogen stores • A rich source of vitamin C and antioxidants, to keep the lurgy at bay

Method

Method

Put 400ml of pomegranate juice, 200ml of fresh orange juice and five tablespoons of manuka honey into a sealable, freezer-safe container. Mix it all together and put it in your freezer until it’s frozen almost solid.

Take the container out of the freezer, transfer the frozen juice mix into a bowl, break it up with a spoon, then whizz it in a blender for a few seconds. Be careful when you’re doing this because the last thing anyone wants is frozen shards of pomegranate spearing across their kitchen!

Once it’s blended, tip it back into the container and place back in the freezer until it’s frozen again. Then you can scoop it into a glass and enjoy its fruity antioxidant goodness with a smug grin plastered all over your face.

Take one wholemeal tortilla wrap and place it on a plate.

You can warm it in the oven, if you’re feeling all posh and fancy, like.

In the centre of the wrap, add 50g of chopped-up feta cheese, 1tsp of pesto, one chopped roasted red pepper, two chopped sundried tomatoes and a handful of spinach or other salad leaves. Then roll it up and chop it in half. That’s it!

We’ve heard that Steve Peat is partial to an Emmental cheese, chorizo and Nando’s sauce combo. It’s decent, wholesome energy, kids!

Method Place 500g of minced beef, a diced onion and one crushed clove of garlic in a bowl.

Add a few drops of Tabasco (or as much as your mouth can take!) and season well.

Mix well and form into eight burger patties. Place the patties on a plate with a layer of greaseproof paper between them and chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To make the relish, put two tomatoes, some fresh chilli, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of honey and a splash of red wine vinegar into a blender and process until smooth. Finely chop and de-seed two more tomatoes and add to the sauce. Season and chill it until needed.

Lightly brush the burgers with olive oil and grill them for 10 minutes, turning them halfway through, until they’re golden brown and thoroughly cooked through – none of this poncey rare approach!

Serve in a wholegrain burger bun topped with the relish, along with some lettuce and slices of red onion.

130 MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS

Method Slice up a banana and six strawberries and then measure out one cup of semi-skimmed milk as well as half a cup of plain yoghurt.

Lob the above into a blender, along with two teaspoons of ground flax seed and a teaspoon of honey. You can also add a scoop of protein powder, if you’re that way inclined.

Blitz it all together and add a dash more milk, depending on how thick you like it.